Bright Spot: STAAR & STEM Readiness Improving

In our first bright spots blog post, we highlighted partner districts earning notable growth since the Partnership was formed in 2012. In this second post, we explore those partner districts achieving outlier year-over-year gains during the 2014-2015 school year.

While the state as a whole showed 2% to 3% declines in the STAAR Postsecondary Readiness standard for two Commit! Partnership early grades indicators, 3rd Grade Reading and 4th Grade Math, partner districts Irving and Duncanville ISDs reflected year-on-year growth in both subjects (Irving ISD in fact grew year-over-year across all four subject areas measured by the Partnership and will be featured in a separate post). Additionally, Mesquite and Carrollton Farmers Branch ISDs grew in absolute terms and against the state in 3rd Grade Reading, and Coppell, Lancaster and Highland Park ISDs grew in absolute terms and against the state in 4th Grade Math.

Middle grades math and science, key predictors of STEM college and career readiness, are also key indicators for the Commit! Partnership. In 8th Grade Science, using the STAAR Postsecondary Readiness standard, the state as a whole dropped 2.5% in year-on-year achievement, but DeSoto, Irving, Highland Park, and Dallas ISDs in fact increased achievement. The picture in Algebra I is rosier, with the state growing 3.6% year-on-year on the STAAR Postsecondary Readiness standard. Mesquite, Grand Prairie, and Dallas ISDs were particularly notable in out-growing the state in Algebra I performance.

You can download the complete bright spots PDF here.