Bay Area Edition | August 2024

Education

BY HALEY VELASCO

Education Edition

2024

Readers, welcome to your annual CI Education Edition! This guide features the latest updates and resources about local K-12 public school options in your community, ranging from new campuses to budget details to bond elections. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting them. In this year’s edition, we break down a recent decline in test scores for Clear Creek ISD and how it compares to the state overall. We also look at recent staffing trends in Clear Creek ISD that have resulted in higher turnover rates. Check out an update on CCISD’s budget and the steps officials took to reduce their projected shortfall by $9 million, as well as a pay increase for staff going into the new school year. Meanwhile, a new bachelor’s program at San Jacinto College is starting this fall semester. To wrap up the guide, we examined recent trends in applications for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which has seen a decline recently in the number of students who have completed their submissions. Thank you for reading.

What's inside

Clear Creek ISD sees increased staff turnover in recent years (Page 20)

Papar Faircloth General Manager pfaircloth@ communityimpact.com

Raise Your Hand Texas officials discuss teacher pay (Page 22)

Completed FAFSA applications decline across U.S., Clear Creek ISD (Page 25)

Sponsor: San Jacinto College

STAAR scores decline at Clear Creek ISD “Our district performance remains above the state on all STAAR tests, grades [three to eight],” Susan Silva, CCISD’s assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, said in an Aug. 16 email. “We are fortu- nate in CCISD to have some of the best leaders and teachers in Texas, and we are excited to continue growing our students in the 2024-25 school year.” What else? The 2024 STAAR tests were graded almost

Passage rate changes, 2023-24 The data shows the change in percentage points of students who passed the STAAR between the spring 2023 and 2024 administrations. Clear Creek ISD Statewide -15 -10 -5 +5 +10 +15 0

Passing rates for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test at Clear Creek ISD declined in reading and math, according to results released in June. The trend is similar statewide, which also saw passing rates dip, data shows. The state and district only saw improvement in fourth-grade reading based on the rates of students approaching grade level, which is con- sidered passing, between spring 2023 and spring 2024, according to STAAR data from the Texas Education Agency, or TEA. For math, grades three-eight saw declines based on the rates of students approaching grade level within the district and state. TEA officials noted in a June 14 news release the decrease in math profi- ciency could be attributed to learning loss following the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite CCISD having declining passage rates, the state saw a larger dip in overall passing rates, except in eighth-grade math and seventh-grade reading, according to STAAR data. Diving in deeper While the district passage rates declined com- pared to last year, CCISD traditionally has higher passage rates than the state. The district’s scores surpassed the state’s in 2024 as well, data shows.

3rd grade

4th grade

5th grade

entirely by computers in an effort by the state to save money and make the grading system more efficient, according to a March presentation by the TEA. Other changes to the STAAR test occurred in 2019 when House Bill 3906 mandated a redesign of the state’s standardized test. Some of the updates included: • State assessments now being required to be administered online • The addition of nonmultiple choice questions, and a “multiple choice cap,” in which 75% of points on the test can be based on multiple choice questions • The addition of evidence-based writing to write responses based on a reading passage in STAAR Reading Language Arts assessments

6th grade

7th grade

8th grade