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LISD receives preliminary EOC results
By Chris Roark, croark@starlocalnews.com
Some of the preliminary results are in for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test, though with them comes about as many questions as answers.
This past spring was the first time for third- through eighth-graders to take the STAAR test and for ninth graders to take the STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) exams. STAAR replaces the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test and are more rigorous. The EOC exams focus more specifically on curriculum points than the TAKS test did.
School administrators will have to wait until the fall to get a full understanding of what some of the results mean since the passing criteria has not been established for third- through eighth-grade tests.
Within the first phase of the testing, which runs through 2014, the passing rate for the math, science, social studies exams is 3,500. A cumulative score of 10,500 is required (3,500 multiplied by three exams within those subjects) to graduate.
In English, the passing rate is 1,875 on the individual exams with the cumulative score required being 11,250 to graduate.
The EOC results are broken down in three performance levels: Level I (unsatisfactory), Level II (satisfactory) and Level III (advanced).
According to results released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), 99.3 percent of the LISD ninth-graders scored Level II or III in geometry, compared to 98 percent in the state.
Also, 95 percent of LISD’s ninth-graders reached Level II or III in biology and Algebra I (compared to 87 percent and 83 percent statewide, respectively). In world geography, 93.5 percent of LISD students reached that standard compared to 81 percent in the state.
“This was our first year to take this test, so there were some known information but also a lot of unknown questions,” said Dr. Penny Reddell, associate superintendent of learning and teaching. “Across the state, everyone gave their best effort, and we wanted to see how things turned out. I’m proud of the efforts from our teachers and our students to be prepared.”
LISD students fared better than the state average in the English exams as well, though the percentage of reaching Level II or III wasn’t as high.
In English I Reading, 83.2 percent of LISD’s ninth-graders met that standard (compared to 68 percent in the state), and 73.4 percent of the district’s ninth-graders met the standard (55 percent across the state).
“We were disappointed in those results but not in the effort our teachers and students gave,” Reddell said. “I was a bit surprised by those percentages because I know how hard everyone worked. We’re in a learning mode right now. So what did we learn and what do we need to do to make sure the children get everything they need?”
As far as third- through eighth-grade results, Reddell said the district has information on how many questions students answered correctly and incorrectly, but there isn’t much that can be done with those statistics until a standard is set in the fall.
Final scores for the STAAR test will be available in January 2013.
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