End-of-course STAAR results are in. How did Fort Worth high school students fare?

The Fort Worth Independent School District lost a small amount of ground in most categories of this year’s end-of-course STAAR exams, according to test results released Friday.

The release marks the first look at how students fared on the newly redesigned state assessment. State education officials have said that the test should be comparable enough to the version students took in previous years that districts can still use the results to get an idea of what direction students are headed in. But testing experts say that even minor changes to an assessment can affect outcomes.

Fort Worth ISD posted declines in Biology, Algebra I and English II. In Biology, 32% of students met grade level standards this year, down from 36% last year. In Algebra I, 20% of test-takers scored on grade level this year, down from 23% last year. In English II, 39% scored on grade level this year, down from 41% last year.

The district posted gains in English I and U.S. History: 34% met grade level expectations in English I, up from 33% last year, and 60% scored on grade level in U.S. History, up from 56% last year.

Fort Worth ISD officials were unavailable for comment.

Statewide, the percentage of students meeting grade level fell within a point of last year’s results in all but one category. In English I, schools across the state posted a six-point increase over last year in the percentage of students meeting grade level.

Friday’s release only includes results of Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History exams students are required to take before they graduate from high school. State education officials expect to release results of reading and math exams for grades 3-8 in mid August.

This year marked the first time students took a newly reformatted version of the test, meaning results from this year’s exam aren’t necessarily comparable to those from previous years. Among other changes, the new version of the test included more short writing prompts and fewer multiple choice questions than the old version. State education officials have said the new exam was designed to more closely mirror the instruction students get in class.

This year also marked the first time students across the state have taken the exam entirely online. While that was a big change for some school districts, others, including Crowley ISD, had already made the shift to all-online testing. Crowley’s chief academic officer told the Star-Telegram in April that the district made the move in 2021, when state education officials paused accountability measures tied to the exam and suspended A-F accountability scores because of the pandemic. That pause allowed the district to make the change at a time when there would be fewer risks if everything didn’t go well.

In a statement, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said the test is intended to give parents and teachers a clear picture of how well students learned the school year’s course material.

“Working with the input of many Texas teachers, we have redesigned the STAAR test to look more like how students learn in the classroom,” he said. “We celebrate these results, and also recognize they provide objective information for parents and educators for the year to come.”

Results were released Friday for other Tarrant County school districts, as well.

Arlington ISD

Arlington schools posted gains in most categories. In Biology, 48% of students met grade level standards, up from 46% last year. In English I, 44% met grade level, from 40% last year. In US History, 67% met grade level, up from 64% last year.

In Algebra I, 34% met grade level this year, down from 38% last year. And in English II, 47% scored on grade level this year, down from 48% last year.

Northwest ISD

Friday’s test results for a mixed bag for the district. In Biology, 74% scored on grade level this year, up from 72% last year. In English I, 71% scored on grade level this year, up from 63% last year. In English II, 70% scored on grade level this year, down from 72% last year. In Algebra I, 52% were on grade level this year, down from 57% last year. And in U.S. History results were flat, with 84% scoring on grade level.

Keller ISD

The district game ground in three categories. In Algebra 1, 61% of students met grade level, up from 56% last year. In Biology, 79% met grade level, up from 78% last year. In English I, 78% met grade level, up from 69% last year.

In English II, 76% met grade level this year, down from 79% last year. In U.S. History, 85% that grade level, down from 86% last year.

Crowley ISD

The district posted gains in three categories. In biology, 42% met grade level this year, up from 41% last year. In English I, 47% grade level this year from 40% last year. In U.S. history, 61% met grade level this year, up from 58% last year.

In Algebra I, 28% Of students met grade level this year, down from 32% last year. In English II, 46% met grade level this year, down from 47% last year.

H-E-B ISD

The district posted gains in two categories and was flat in a third. In Biology, 75% met grade level this year, up from 73% last year.In English I, 72% met grade level, up from 65% last year. In English II, results were flat at 68%.

In Algebra I, 69% met grade level this year, down from 71% last year. In U.S. History, 82% met grade level this year, down from 83% last year.