Fort Worth ISD third graders still haven't caught up after pandemic, STAAR results show

More than two years after Texas schools reopened, Fort Worth students’ academic performance continues to lag behind pre-pandemic standards, according to state test results released Friday.

The new data highlights the uphill battle for students and teachers trying to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, while the Texas Education Agency added changes to the Texas State School Readiness Assessments, or STAAR, including the use of artificial intelligence to score written responses. which was deployed this spring and a new format launched in spring 2023.

Across all grade levels and subjects, 35 percent of Fort Worth students performed satisfactorily on last spring’s state test, according to an analysis of testing data by the nonprofit Fort Worth Education Partnership. This figure represents a drop of one point from last year’s results and four points from spring 2019, the last round of testing before the pandemic began. These numbers include students in all public schools in the city of Fort Worth, including those in the 14 school districts that cover parts of the city, as well as public charter schools.

In the Fort Worth Independent School District, 33% of third graders met grade level in reading, the same percentage that met that threshold in 2019 and a one-point increase from last year. But 40% of third graders did not meet or approach grade level in reading this year, compared to 36% in 2019.

Education researchers and school leaders often state that third grade is a pivotal time in a child’s educational journey because it is the time when students stop learning to read and start reading to learn . Students who cannot read well in third grade often have difficulty reading and writing for the rest of their schooling.

Steve Wilson [email protected]

Across all grades and subjects, about a quarter of Fort Worth ISD students performed at grade level, according to the analysis. This is roughly the same result as last year. Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey says overall scores are behind where she wants, but they’re promising compared to statewide scores, which have declined compared to last year.

For example, the percentage of third graders in the district who met grade level in math increased by 2 percent. The percentage of students approaching grade level dropped by 1% and those who were proficient at grade level remained the same. Statewide, the percentage of third graders reaching grade level in math fell 2 percent, while the percentage of students near grade level declined 3 percent and those who were proficient at grade level fell 3 percent. fell 4%.

A somewhat similar trend emerged in reading among third graders. In Fort Worth, there was a 1 percent increase in the number of students reaching grade level and proficiency level, while the percentage of students approaching grade level remained the same. The percentage of students across the state fell 2% for those near grade level and 1% for those at grade level. There was a 1% increase in those who were proficient in the subject.

“I’m very confident in what we’re doing, and our very intentional academic support, because we’re outperforming the state as a whole when we serve a very large percentage of students who qualify for free reduced-price lunch, a very large number of students. percentage of students who become bilingual and a very large percentage of students with disabilities,” Ramsey told the Star-Telegram.

Steve Wilson [email protected]

Texas students still lagging behind in math, results show

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said the results indicate students across the state still struggle in math. While celebrating the hard work of teachers and school staff as well as progress in other areas, Morath said the state must do more to ensure students have the math skills they need to succeed.

“Pandemic-induced learning disruptions have exacerbated students’ difficulties mastering fundamental math concepts,” he said. “As a result, we must keep our foot on the accelerator to intensify efforts to provide targeted interventions and research-based educational strategies to ensure that students learn the necessary foundational skills and concepts and achieve academic outcomes desired, not only in mathematics but in all subjects. areas. »

John Romig, a professor at the College of Education at the University of Texas at Arlington, said the fact that there is so little change in the statewide scores can be read as good or bad news: The good news is that the scores have not improved. significantly worse. The bad news is that about half of the state’s students still don’t meet reading expectations. He noted that the picture is even bleaker in Fort Worth schools, where nearly 70 percent of students performed below grade level in reading.

But while he said the standard was nothing to cheer about, Romig acknowledged that Texas students had returned close to pre-pandemic reading standards. While saying there is no empirical evidence explaining why math scores remain stubbornly low, Romig speculated that the difference might be related to how students approach reading and math in their lives in outside of school. Children encounter text on signs, labels and even in video games, he said, and most parents who don’t feel equipped to help their children with math are happy to read a book with them . In contrast, most children aren’t asked to solve math problems outside of school, he said.

The ongoing debate over how best to teach math could also play a role in this lack of momentum, Romig said. In reading, a debate raged for years between proponents of a phonics approach to reading instruction and proponents of an approach that discouraged students from paying too much attention to individual letters and instead focused on understanding the meaning of words. Although the debate in reading is largely a settled issue, there is no similar consensus in mathematics, he said.

In recent years, many districts, including Fort Worth ISD, have adopted math programs that focus on conceptual understanding of math operations rather than memorizing things like formulas and multiplication tables. Advocates said the new model would help students understand not only how to solve problems, but also why they might need to. But Romig argued that focusing on conceptual understanding without first giving students a basic understanding of how mathematical operations work could put them at a disadvantage. He said there is a way to teach these basic operations without returning to the old model of teaching math, which was largely unpopular with teachers and students.

FWISD seeks to focus on math and reading

In Fort Worth ISD, the district plans to focus on math and reading by continuing additional online learning programs, DreamBox for Math and Lexia for Reading, which were introduced with federal COVID relief funding, according to Ramsey. Officials attributed these programs to gains seen in midyear MAP exam scores for the 2023-24 school year. MAP is a national exam that Fort Worth ISD students take three times a year to measure their individual growth, while the STAAR exam is taken at the end of the school year to see how prepared students are to take to the next class.

District staff also create a strategic plan intended to outline a road map with various ways in which the district can continue to address gaps observed in both test scores and other measures of performance and student success, where disparities between certain groups of students are apparent. The percentage of Fort Worth ISD third graders who identify as Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American and who are performing on grade level in reading ranges from 20 to 41 percent. , according to Friday’s STAAR. results. Looking at the white student population, 59% are at grade level in reading. Additionally, only 26% of economically disadvantaged students meet this indicator.

“As we begin to dig deeper into our data, we always look at our student groups. We focused on African American students, students with disabilities and emerging bilinguals,” Ramsey said. “We are seeing that the things we are putting in place – and the specific focus areas that will be part of the strategic plan that will be submitted to the school board in July – are helping our students.

🚨 More top stories from our newsroom:

→ STAAR scores: Fort Worth ISD 3rd graders haven’t caught up after pandemic

→ Texas’ power grid is ‘in better shape’ than last year. How likely are power outages?

→ Fort Worth man accused of threatening FBI agent involved in Hunter Biden case

(Get our breaking news alerts.)