RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Education Administration has released results for the STAAR exam and a good number of school districts showed improvement over last year’s results.
Raymondville Independent School District posted some of the best numbers in the Valley.
“We outperformed the state again, and we outperformed the region again. We even saw about a two percent overall increase over what we had last year,” Deputy Superintendent Benjamin Clinton with Raymondville ISD said.
85 percent of 3rd through 8th grade students at Raymondville ISD approached grade level in reading, while 81 percent approached grade level in mathematics.
The statewide average for students to approach or surpass grade level is 76 percent.
“Looking at the numbers, it appears that we’re one of the top performing, if not the top in our region,” Clinton added.
The TEA states that approaching grade level means students are likely to succeed in the next grade with some academic intervention.
They can generally demonstrate the ability to apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts.
Clinton said teachers and principals at the campuses deserved a lot of the credit.
“If I had to attribute our high scores to one area, I’d say it’s great instruction. We’ve really focused on putting the best teachers in the classroom for our students,” Clinton said.
Education experts said the general trend of rising test scores is especially impressive because the STAAR test was redesigned this year. Lawmakers wanted the test to better align with what students were learning in the classroom. The new test featured more written answers and fewer multiple-choice questions.
Clinton said students in his district probably experienced learning loss during the pandemic, just like everywhere else.
He adds the district’s approach to teaching during COVID might be a big reason why they are seeing academic success now.
“That year when everybody else was at home, we offered parents the opportunity to bring their kids to school. And we encouraged them to come in. We made our schools safe and really encouraged our parents to bring them for face-to-face learning. Because we recognized from the beginning that was the best way for our kids to learn,” Clinton said.
The next round of STAAR testing comes in April.
Clinton says he’s looking for Raymondville students to enjoy continued success.
Student’s STAAR test results can be accessed online.
Article by Brian R Svendsen : https://www.valleycentral.com/news/education/raymondville-posts-strong-numbers-as-staar-scores-rise-across-the-valley/
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