Today, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced the 2014 district and school accountability ratings under the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests. Birdville ISD and all 31 district campuses earned a rating of Met Standard, the highest rating available in this second year of the newly revised state accountability system.

“I am proud that the district and every campus earned a Met Standard rating under the state’s new and more rigorous testing system again this year,” Superintendent Darrell Brown said. “I believe this is a reflection of the continued hard work of our students and staff. Congratulations to the students, staff and community.”

To receive a Met Standard rating, the district and elementary and middle schools had to meet target scores in four indexes, while high schools were evaluated only on indexes 1, 3 and 4.

• Index 1 – Student Achievement, evaluates performance on STAAR across all subjects and all student groups at the satisfactory performance standard.
• Index 2 – Student Progress, evaluates the academic growth of students in reading and math from 10 student groups, including seven race/ethnicity groups, English language learners and special education students.
• Index 3 – Closing Performance Gaps, evaluates two levels of performance of students who are economically disadvantaged and, as applicable, students from the two lowest performing race/ethnicity groups from the prior year.
• Index 4 – Postsecondary Readiness, evaluates student performance in all tested grade levels against standards to be in place in 2016 (Level II final). High schools and districts are also evaluated on graduation rates, the percentage of students graduating on Recommended and Distinguished/Advanced plans, and on a postsecondary readiness indicator based on TAKS performance.

Additional distinction designations were also awarded in 2014 to campuses in seven areas: academic achievement in reading/ELA, academic achievement in mathematics, academic achievement in science, academic achievement in social studies, top 25 percent in student progress, top 25 percent in closing performance gaps, and postsecondary readiness. Distinctions are based on comparisons between individual schools and a 40-campus group with similar student demographics. Overall, 26 of the 31 BISD campuses received at least one distinction and two campuses received the maximum possible: Foster Village and Green Valley elementary schools. A total of 77 distinctions were awarded to campuses across the district, up from 36 in 2013.

Additional academic highlights from 2014 include:

• BISD STAAR scores exceeded the state average in every subject area in grades 3-8, with the exception of one area.
• Third-grade students exceeded the state average on the STAAR math test by seven percentage points and by six percentage points on the reading test.
• Fourth-grade students exceeded the state average on the STAAR math and reading test by four percentage points and by three percentage points on the writing test.
• Fifth-grade students scored four percentage points above the state average on the math test and seven percentage points above the state average on the reading and science tests.
• Sixth- and seventh-grade students exceeded or equaled the state in all areas, except in sixth-grade reading, where they were one percentage point below.
• Students taking the eighth-grade math test exceeded the state average on the STAAR math test by 10 percentage points.
• Eighth-grade students also exceeded the state average on the STAAR reading and social studies tests by four percentage points and the science test by six percentage points.