Austin, TX—Today, the Texas Education Agency announced the statewide passing rates for the 2012 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) for third through eighth grade topped 70 percent for most tests. Students in the Austin Independent School District exceeded the statewide passing rates in all subject areas for third through fifth grade.

AISD’s passing rates ranged from 82 percent in third and fourth grade reading to 58 percent in eighth grade social studies, which is similar to state ranges that are the result of different, state-set passing standards across grades and subject areas.

AISD students’ strongest performances in comparison to state passing rates are in third and fourth grade math, with the district exceeding the state passing rate by 9 percentage points. TEA Commissioner Michael Williams noted the lower passing rates in social studies could be attributed to the inclusion of new curriculum content.

“Amid increasing standards and declining resources, AISD students continue to perform well and transition to this new assessment successfully during a period of high-stakes testing. Overall, our students continue to be successful and our teachers are doing an outstanding job,” Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said. “As we move forward and think about testing and accountability, we must seek a balance between using exams and evaluations and giving our teachers and students the time and flexibility they need to learn the material we are trying to test.”

AISD and State 2012 STAAR Passing Rates: Percentage Meeting Level II Standards

The STAAR exam was administered during the spring of 2012 for the first time. STAAR is a more rigorous test than TAKS and its “passing standards” will be phased in for elementary and middle schools during a four-year, two-step process. TEA will not release official information about the criteria it will use to rate schools until March.

“Overall, we are pleased with the results. Our elementary schools outperformed state passing rates in every subject and at every grade level,” Bill Caritj, AISD’s chief performance officer, said. “In addition, the hard work of our secondary school teams paid off with outstanding results on the end of course exams for ninth grade last spring.”

The TEA released results for the first high school, end of course exams for ninth grade during spring 2012. AISD outperformed the state passing rates in Algebra I and English I and led the Big 8 urban districts in Algebra I, Biology, English I Reading and English I Writing.

Last night, AISD’s Board of Trustees voted to defer implementation of the statutory provision that requires end of course assessment performance count for 15 percent of a student's final grade. This is the second year the TEA has allowed districts to defer the requirement.