Texas students suffered deep learning loss -- particularly in math -- after a challenging school year that forced millions of children to learn from disruptive environments during the pandemic, according to preliminary STAAR results.
The test scores, expected to be available early next week, could create a clearer picture of the central challenge schools face: “the academic damage that COVID has wrought,” Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday.
“The preliminary look is every bit as problematic as we thought,” Morath said. He stressed that “the name of the game for us for the conceivable future is how do we modify our systems … to increase the rate at which we accelerate learning.”
SBOE member Ruben Cortez, D-Brownsville, probed Morath at Wednesday’s meeting on how students of color fared academically.
The overwhelming driver of academic proficiency was whether or not students were learning virtually or not, Morath responded. The commissioner pointed to the large number of students who learned remotely for the entire school year and the varying quality of distance learning throughout the state.
“So to the extent that you had more students of color who were remote, more white students who were in person, then you’re going to see disproportionality,” Morath said. “It’s not so much a function of anything other than who was choosing to be remote all year long or who was encouraged -- in some cases by various actors in the system -- to stay remote all year long.”
Recent data released by the U.S. Department of Education shows that students of color were more likely to spend a longer time learning remotely than their white peers.
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STAAR performance drops
Initial results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, exams were recently released for high school students’ required end-of-course exams as well as for reading and math tests for grades 5 and 8.
The 2021 results showed students significantly lagged behind performance in 2019, which was the last year the exams were administered.
The percentage of Texas students failing reading and math on STAAR tests increased in grades 5 and 8. The disparity was much greater in math than in reading, reinforcing an issue educators have flagged in recent months.
Statewide, the percentage of fifth graders failing math standards increased from 17% to 31% while the percentage of eighth graders failing it jumped from 19% to 40%.
Dallas ISD saw similar trends -- 31% of fifth graders failed math standards compared to 18% in 2019 . The percent of eighth graders who didn’t pass the standards increased from 19% to 46%.
Failing a state exam denotes a student is unlikely to succeed in the next grade level without significant, ongoing academic intervention.
Also troubling, fewer DISD students “mastered” math. Mastering standards means a student is expected to succeed in the next grade level or course with little or no academic intervention.
Only 23% of DISD students met that level in fifth grade, down from 34% two years ago. The district saw 6% of eighth graders hitting that mark, down from 14%.
Reading exams saw a similar, although not as drastic, decline. Statewide, the percent of fifth graders and eighth graders failing reading exams increased from 23% to 28%.
The percent of DISD fifth graders who failed reading rose from 28% to 33% and the percent of eighth graders increased from 31% to 34%.
High school results
High schoolers didn’t fare any better on end-of-course exams.
The learning loss trend was less severe across the state in English I and II where there were just slight decreases in Texas students not meeting standards.
But the percentage of students failing state standards in Algebra I nearly doubled -- jumping from 16% to 28% in 2021. Meanwhile, the percent of students mastering Algebra I tanked, going from 39% to 23%.
In Dallas ISD, high school students struggled the most in Algebra I and Biology. About a third of students who took the Algebra I test -- 34% -- failed while 28% missed standards on the Biology test.
“The number of students who are significantly below grade level is far higher this year than we’ve ever seen it before because of the academic impact of COVID,” Morath told the State Board of Education at its Wednesday meeting.
STAAR data comes with several caveats this year -- the test was interrupted by a glitch for roughly 250,000 students this spring and an undetermined number of students opted out because the exams were only being offered in person.
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Technical issues always spark concerns over how usable results will be, testing experts told The Dallas Morning News earlier this year. But TEA officials have emphasized that “evidence indicates that the results are still valid.”
“While we don’t yet know how many students will take the test this year, we do know that the individual test results will help produce a meaningful snapshot and roadmap for millions of Texas students and their families as they continue to work diligently to overcome the learning disruptions of the past year,” TEA spokesman Frank Ward said in a statement at the time.
The focus now turns to new initiatives and solutions that will accelerate student learning. Morath outlined new legislative pushes to speed up academic recovery including those that allow families to have their students repeat a grade, create new accelerated learning programs for students who have fallen behind and craft new tutoring programs for retired teachers.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
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June 24, 2021 at 02:34AM
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