According to the district’s latest STAAR scores, academic outcomes at Fort Worth ISD remain below par.
Looking at all grade levels and subjects, only 35% of Fort Worth ISD students performed at grade level on last year’s tests. That figure declined by 1% this term, with scores logging a 4% drop from the spring of 2019, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Fort Worth ISD saw only 33% of its third-graders meet grade level in reading, the same percentage as in 2019. However, 40% of the third-graders did not meet or approach grade level this year in reading, compared to 36% in 2019. Students who have not sufficiently mastered reading by the third grade are more likely to struggle with literacy throughout the rest of their school years.
Superintendent Angelica Ramsey told the Star-Telegram that the overall scores were lagging behind where she would like them to be but showed promise compared to statewide scores.
“I feel very confident in that what we’re doing, and being very intentional with our academic support, that we are outpacing the state as a whole when we serve a very large percentage of students who are free-reduced lunch, a very large percentage of students who are emerging bilingual and a very large percentage of students with disabilities,” Ramsey said.
On a positive note, the percentage of third-graders who met their grade level for math went up by 2%. But, the rate of students who approached their grade level decreased by 1%.
As indicated by STAAR scores statewide, students continue to struggle in math.
“Pandemic-induced disruptions to learning exacerbated students’ difficulties in mastering fundamental math concepts,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath about the scores, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. “As a result, we must keep our foot on the gas to intensify efforts in providing targeted interventions and research-based education strategies to ensure that students obtain necessary foundational skills and concepts and achieve the desired academic outcomes not only in math but across all subject areas.”
Like Fort Worth ISD, Dallas ISD has also struggled to produce good educational outcomes. Only 81.1% of graduating seniors at Dallas ISD graduated on time in the 2021-2022 school year. In Fort Worth ISD that school year, that figure was 85.7%.
