Strong STAAR Performance Means Student Success

Earlier this summer, the Texas Education Agency released results for the spring 2018 administration of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR^®) for mathematics and reading in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

We also released the results for the five STAAR end-of-course assessments (Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History), which are required for high school graduation.

As a reminder, students receive a STAAR performance label of Masters Grade Level, Meets Grade Level, Approaches Grade Level, or Did Not Meet Grade Level. Performance labels of Masters, Meets, or Approaches indicate achievement on the assessment.

Texas students traditionally perform well on STAAR – this year is no exception. Most students successfully met grade level or achieved higher level performance on all five STAAR end-of-course assessments. The same can be said for students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 taking STAAR math and reading.

Along with this strong performance, there are additional signs that our teachers are providing strong levels of instruction in the classroom.

In a year-over-year comparison, the percentage of students achieving Meets Grade Level or higher in mathematics increased in four of the six grades.
In a year-over-year comparison, the percentage of students achieving Meets Grade Level or higher in reading increased in three of the six grades.
In a year-over-year comparison, the percentage of students achieving Meets Grade Level or higher increased in four of five end-of-course assessments.

We see similar trends in STAAR results for writing for grades 4 and 7; science for grades 5 and 8; and social studies for grade 8.

So, what does all this mean? On a statewide level, we know that students meeting grade level expectations on STAAR are likely to succeed in the next school year.

I want to continue to encourage parents to visit www.texasassessment.com and “Log In, Learn More” to see specific information about their child. With a student access code (provided by your local school district), parents can view a variety of resources and assessment components, including each STAAR question and answer—along with their student’s answers.

This website also provides resources designed to help parents prepare their son or daughter as they progress from grade level to grade level. Resources include tools to support a student’s ability to read and write, as well as tips and questions to help prepare for parent-teacher conferences in the coming school year.

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Commissioner Mike Morath
July 10, 2018