Like many other public school systems in the state, Dallas ISD did not fair especially well during the 2022-2023 STAAR exams.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) published STAAR scores on Wednesday. Statewide averages showed some improvement, with the agency boasting evidence of a sustained recovery from the learning loss students experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, no grade level had at least 50% of its students score at grade level in math, and in reading-language arts, the eighth grade had the biggest share, with 56% scoring at grade level.
Dallas ISD managed to boost its scores across most grade levels in both reading and math. However, some grades logged especially alarming scores.
Only 14% of seventh graders scored at grade level in math, well below the statewide average of 35% — itself a troubling figure.
Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde acknowledged the low number in an interview with KERA News, telling the news outlet that the district is trying to figure out what happened.
Another troubling outlier was the share of fourth graders scoring at grade level in reading, which fell by 6% compared to last school year. However, the district saw most grade levels edge toward the statewide averages.
“The students whose early education started during, or was interrupted by the pandemic, are now at or above pre-pandemic levels in most categories. In fact, we are catching up to the state scores across the board,” Elizalde said in a district news release.
Dallas ISD students, however, still scored significantly below pre-pandemic scores in some subjects and grade levels. Some 45% of third graders scored at grade level in math in 2019, but only 41% hit the mark this past year. A greater difference could be found in fifth-grade math scores, with 57% scoring at grade level in 2019 and only 50% in 2023.
Despite the hard work of the school system’s dedicated professionals, the district seems to have a long ways to go to ensure its students are getting a quality education.
“[T]he ‘meets level,’ … we all know that’s really the measuring stick, right? We need to make sure our students are on or above grade level,” Elizalde told KERA News.
Respondents to a poll conducted last year suggested that mismanagement was one of the primary reasons Dallas ISD struggles academically.
