Despite recent changes to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing, China Spring ISD continues to outperform others across the state. This year's test included the new testing components and accountability system, which have impacted scores statewide, including those in our district.
Changes to the STAAR test include, introducing new question types requiring short and extended constructed responses. Students as young as third grade, are now required to type out responses to reading comprehension questions. In addition to changing questions, the state made changes to the accountability system used to determine school performance. These changes are the first major overhaul since 2020, when STAAR testing started switching to online.
The dedication and hard work of our students, teachers, and staff have enabled China Spring ISD to maintain a strong performance relative to other districts.
Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Marc Faulkner, is proud of the work teachers did to prepare students for the test. “We are extremely proud of our students, teachers, and campus administration teams for navigating every new element that the STAAR redesign presented,” states Faulkner. “Our educators are committed to putting the students first, making sure they are individualizing instruction to meet student needs.”
The district is proactively addressing the challenges posed by the new STAAR test. Many teachers start each class period with a prompt designed around elements of the STAAR test, helping our students become familiar with the test. Executive Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, Kristen Dutschmann, and her team of instructional coaches provide individualized support for all teachers. Elementary, Intermediate, Middle, and High School campuses have an instructional coach dedicated to helping the teachers, and ultimately the students, within those campuses succeed.
China Spring ISD is fully committed to helping students navigate these changes and continue to achieve academic success, while also emphasizing that test scores are just one component of the educational experience. The district is committed to providing exceptional experiences in the classroom, opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities, and positive testing results.
It is important to remember, the STAAR test results are one piece of school district evaluations. Like the STAAR tests, TEA is implementing a new scale for scoring district accountability ratings. Once these ratings are released, China Spring ISD will provide additional information.