TEA News Releases Online June 10, Statewide STAAR passing rates stable for school year

TEA News Releases Online June 10, 2013 Statewide STAAR passing rates stable for 2012-13 school year AUSTIN rates on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ) end-of-course tests were largely stable during the second year of this program, with students faring the best on science assessments and continuing to struggle with writing, according to statewide results for all 2012-13 STAAR tests released today by the Texas Education Agency. rates on courses typically taken by high school freshman ranged from 88 percent on Biology to 54 percent on English I writing. The results showed very little change from 2012 levels when comparing the performance of first-time test takers. We know that we are asking more of our students and educators under the STAAR program, said Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams. Our students and teachers are still adjusting to the new expectations, but it is clear we must improve instruction to meet 21 st century demands. Overall STAAR passing rates during the spring 2012-13 administration of high school assessments (first-time test takers only/no retesters) are as follows: Algebra I 82.1 percent passing 336,437 students tested (Down 0.6 percent from STAAR spring 2012 administration) Geometry* 86.2 percent passing 295,877 students tested English I 70.1 percent passing 338,872 students tested (Up 2.2 percent from STAAR spring 2012 administration) English II* 78.0 percent passing 313,423 students tested Writing English I 54.3 percent passing 338,646 students tested (Down 0.2 percent from STAAR spring 2012 administration) English II* 52.7 percent passing 313,981 students tested * Denotes first year of full implementation for STAAR assessment in that subject area 1

Science Biology 88.0 percent passing 338,704 students tested (Up 0.9 percent from STAAR spring 2012 administration) Chemistry* 83.7 percent passing 267,996 students tested Social Studies World Geography 80.5 percent passing 332,701 students tested (Down 0.1 percent from STAAR spring 2012 administration) World History* 70.2 percent 305,152 students tested * Denotes first year of full implementation for STAAR assessment in that subject area While we would have hoped to see an across-the-board increase in performance, the difficulty of the tests, coupled with the uncertainty of the testing program s future, likely impacted performance this year, Commissioner Williams said. We may find that with STAAR our performance increases gradually rather than in large bursts. Williams noted that in English I (where there is a percentage increase between spring administrations), that improvement is seen across multiple student groups including African- American students (an increase of 1.5 percent), Hispanic students (an increase of 3.2 percent) and Economically Disadvantaged students (an increase of 2.6 percent). Williams also acknowledged that the writing exams are a significant departure from past state assessments. Under the exit-level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), students were required to write a personal narrative essay, while the more rigorous STAAR includes expository and persuasive essays. These are types of writing typically expected in the workplace or college. To help strengthen future student performance, TEA has made a number of resources available to help improve writing skills. These resources include the STAAR scoring guides which contain samples of well-written STAAR essays. Good writing is critical for success in college and in the workforce, and the lagging performance in writing corresponds with what we ve been hearing from higher education and from employers, Williams said. By continuing to shine the light on writing performance, I m optimistic that we can graduate students who are better communicators. Earlier this year, Williams also announced he is accelerating the scheduled release dates for STAAR exams, with all general exams to be released in August following statewide summer administrations of the tests. This year also marked the last time that an entire class will take the exit-level TAKS. The Class of 2014 must pass TAKS, as well as their courses, to meet graduation requirements. For these 11 th grade-students, TAKS passing rates ranged from 99 percent on the social studies test to 89 percent on the mathematics assessment. 2

Grades 5 & 8 Under state law, Texas students in grades 5 and 8 must pass the STAAR reading and math tests to be promoted to the next grade. Seventy-seven percent of fifth-grade students passed the STAAR reading test on the first try in April, and 87 percent had passed after the second administration of the test. Seventy-five percent of the fifth graders passed the mathematics tests in April, and the cumulative passing rate was 87 percent after the second administration of the test in May. This year, 84 percent of eighth-grade students passed reading on the first try and 89 percent had passed after the second administration. On the STAAR math test, 77 percent of eighth-grade students passed the test the first time they took it, and 86 percent passed after two tries. Those who failed these exams have a third testing opportunity on June 25 th and 26 th. State law requires students who do not pass these tests to be retained in their current grade unless a parent appeals the retention and a grade placement committee unanimously agrees to promote them. Eighth-grade students took two additional STAAR tests that do not impact their grade placement. Seventy-five percent of them passed the science test, and 63 percent passed the social studies test. Additional Elementary and Middle School Grades percentages for grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 ranged from a high of 79 percent on the third-grade reading to 70 percent on seventh-grade writing. Comparison charts of statewide results and summary charts provide more detail about all STAAR results. Note that TEA does not have district-level test results at this time. Those are available from your local school districts and charters. # # # 3

State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ) End-of-Course Comparison of Pass Rates at Phase-In 1 Standards ALL STUDENTS SPRING ADMINISTRATION ONLY INCLUDES PRIMARY (1ST) ADMINISTRATION ONLY (NO RETESTERS) STAAR General Assessment Program 2011-12 2012-13 Difference Algebra I All Students 333,589 275,910 82.7% 336,437 276,270 82.1% -0.6% Black/African American 42,324 31,791 75.1% 42,878 31,763 74.1% -1.0% Hispanic/Latino 160,856 126,313 78.5% 163,863 127,788 78.0% -0.5% White 109,980 98,782 89.8% 108,868 97,476 89.5% -0.3% Economically Disadvantaged 180,315 138,224 76.7% 183,411 138,993 75.8% -0.9% English I - All Students 334,828 227,402 67.9% 338,872 237,591 70.1% 2.2% Black/African American 42,281 25,058 59.3% 43,029 26,133 60.7% 1.5% Hispanic/Latino 161,757 95,612 59.1% 165,919 103,327 62.3% 3.2% White 110,256 90,183 81.8% 108,604 90,689 83.5% 1.7% Economically Disadvantaged 180,879 102,543 56.7% 184,661 109,452 59.3% 2.6% English I - Writing All Students 334,944 182,687 54.5% 338,646 183,935 54.3% -0.2% Black/African American 42,318 18,835 44.5% 42,997 18,518 43.1% -1.4% Hispanic/Latino 161,800 71,437 44.2% 165,713 74,482 44.9% 0.8% White 110,292 77,279 70.1% 108,641 75,380 69.4% -0.7% Economically Disadvantaged 180,983 74,753 41.3% 184,487 76,147 41.3% 0.0% Biology All Students 319,072 277,665 87.0% 338,704 297,939 88.0% 0.9% Black/African American 40,295 33,618 83.4% 44,217 36,897 83.4% 0.0% Hispanic/Latino 152,151 125,304 82.4% 164,010 137,791 84.0% 1.7% White 107,066 100,115 93.5% 110,067 103,835 94.3% 0.8% Economically Disadvantaged 170,372 138,712 81.4% 183,424 151,909 82.8% 1.4% World Geography All Students 320,971 258,698 80.6% 332,701 267,750 80.5% -0.1% Black/African American 41,263 29,338 71.1% 43,168 30,455 70.5% -0.6% Hispanic/Latino 154,115 115,668 75.1% 160,802 121,829 75.8% 0.7% White 106,276 95,871 90.2% 108,478 96,953 89.4% -0.8% Economically Disadvantaged 173,424 125,675 72.5% 179,670 130,435 72.6% 0.1%

State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR ) Grades 3 8 Comparison of Pass Rates at Phase-In 1 Standards ALL STUDENTS STATEWIDE SUMMARIES SIDE BY SIDE SPRING ADMINISTRATION ONLY STAAR General Assessment Program 2011-12 2012-13 Difference Grade 3 337,305 229,570 68.1% 342,386 237,874 69.5% 1.4% Grade 4 346,249 235,895 68.1% 349,927 239,060 68.3% 0.2% Grade 5 353,030 273,287 77.4% 349,754 262,507 75.1% -2.4% Grade 6 344,977 267,105 77.4% 352,232 259,763 73.7% -3.7% Grade 7 323,015 227,851 70.5% 323,185 230,704 71.4% 0.8% Grade 8 312,342 236,530 75.7% 284,653 219,733 77.2% 1.5% (Spanish) Grade 3 19,859 11,102 55.9% 18,971 11,210 59.1% 3.2% Grade 4 10,824 5,734 53.0% 9,407 4,810 51.1% -1.8% Grade 5 3,631 1,762 48.5% 3,606 1,581 43.8% -4.7% Grade 3 327,936 250,698 76.4% 330,032 261,163 79.1% 2.7% Grade 4 334,484 258,479 77.3% 335,374 241,825 72.1% -5.2% Grade 5 348,806 268,900 77.1% 345,152 266,222 77.1% 0.0% Grade 6 354,387 264,283 74.6% 360,138 256,168 71.1% -3.4% Grade 7 347,911 264,958 76.2% 358,284 276,832 77.3% 1.1% Grade 8 340,860 272,361 79.9% 344,926 288,175 83.5% 3.6% (Spanish) Grade 3 36,318 23,493 64.7% 36,714 24,785 67.5% 2.8% Grade 4 23,249 13,965 60.1% 24,278 13,958 57.5% -2.6% Grade 5 9,986 6,880 68.9% 10,785 7,559 70.1% 1.2% Writing Grade 4 332,417 237,467 71.4% 333,606 235,798 70.7% -0.8% Grade 7 347,294 247,518 71.3% 357,581 249,856 69.9% -1.4% Writing (Spanish) Grade 4 24,453 15,707 64.2% 25,421 15,117 59.5% -4.8% Science Grade 5 354,628 257,565 72.6% 351,603 255,884 72.8% 0.1% Grade 8 336,661 235,899 70.1% 343,411 256,788 74.8% 4.7% Science (Spanish) Grade 5 4,064 1,650 40.6% 5,372 2,199 40.9% 0.3% Social Studies Grade 8 336,762 199,985 59.4% 344,267 218,173 63.4% 4.0%