Category Archives: Assessment

HISD to swing for success with 2023 Spring Training Data Series

Get your bats ready for the 2023 Spring Training Data Series Conference! This year’s event is dedicated to our World Series Champions, the Houston Astros, and will be held in person on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at Chavez High School (8501 Howard Dr., 77017) beginning at 8 a.m.

This event is open to ALL districts, charter schools, and private schools.

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Nation’s report card sheds light on COVID-19 impacts on students in core education subjects

The 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) released data highlighting national declines based on fourth and eighth grade math and reading assessments administered in the spring of 2022. The nationwide assessment included a sample of 5,400 fourth and eighth grade Houston Independent School District students from 107 campuses. A total of 216,500 fourth grade students from 5,550 schools and 215,700 eighth grade students from 5,010 schools participated in the nationwide administration of NAEP in 2022.

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Colleges waiving SAT, ACT admission requirements

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an increasing number of colleges and universities are waiving the American College Testing (ACT) and Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) as part of their fall 2021 admissions process. 

The SAT and ACT tests will not only be optional for students, but most colleges are also not requiring students to take the exams to be considered for admission.

“This presents a great opportunity for students,” HISD Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Rick Cruz said. “This allows them to demonstrate that they are academically capable in different ways.”

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Trustees approve comprehensive facilities assessment to address aging infrastructure across the district 

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday approved a comprehensive, districtwide facilities assessment designed to aid administrators as they prepare to address aging infrastructure across the district.

Facing more than $4.7 billion in deferred maintenance needs, the assessment data will be used to drive the district’s response to maintenance issues, safety concerns, student population growth, and building capacity needs, as well vertical curriculum alignment and educational equity.

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TEA revises STAAR performance labels 

The Texas Education Agency has revised the way it labels how a student has performed on the STAAR tests in grades 3-12, and the new labels will be used for students taking STAAR this spring. (See STAAR testing dates here.)

Students receive a numerical grade on their STAAR tests, and these numerical grades are grouped into categories that are referred to as “labels.” Previously, a student’s performance was labeled as Advanced, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory. Now there are four categories instead of three. The new labels are as follows: Continue reading

HISD moves away from high-stakes testing in student grade-level promotion decisions

Board also approves 2017-2018 calendar that gives students and staff a full week off for Thanksgiving

The Houston ISD Board of Education voted Thursday to join with other school districts that only use students’ scores on high-stakes standardized tests for grade-level promotion decisions when doing so is required by Texas law. The decision is effective immediately for the 2016-2017 school year and beyond.

Texas law requires students to pass the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in math and reading in grades five and eight. The state also mandates that high school students pass STAAR end-of-course exams. Because this is state law, HISD students will still be required to pass these STAAR exams.

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State releases ‘work-in-progress’ report on new accountability system

Methodology likely to change before official A-F ratings are released in 2018

The Texas Education Agency on Friday released a “work-in-progress” report on school accountability ratings in an effort to preview how the actual ratings might look in 2018.

In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring all public schools and districts to be issued a single overall grade of A, B, C, D, or F. These future ratings are to be based on student performance in five areas, or domains: student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps, post-secondary readiness, and community and student engagement.

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State releases preliminary STAAR math and reading results for grades 5 and 8

The Texas Education Agency today released preliminary math and reading scores for fifth- and eighth-grade students on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).

Students were required to answer more questions correctly this year in order to pass. Continue reading

Get ready: Spring STAAR testing begins March 29

HISD students in grades 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 will be taking portions of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) beginning Tuesday, March 29.

Students in grades 4 and 7 will be taking the writing portion, while students in grades 5 and 8 will be taking the math and reading portions. High-school students who are either currently enrolled in or have completed English I or II will also be taking the end-of-course (EOC) exams associated with those subjects.

The first spring test administration concludes on Friday, April 1. Additional testing  will take place in May and July.

Questions? Visit HISD’s updated STAAR website, which has a list of FAQ, a complete schedule of spring testing dates, and other resources.