The Texas Education Agency’s most recent report on the Llano Independent School District shows that its students are performing on par or better than the state average in most academic areas; however, Packsaddle Elementary is an apparent outlier with scores below average on all seven State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests.
“Including the individual campuses, the entire report is over 100 pages so it’s a lot to digest,” said Assistant Superintendent James Payne, who gave a public presentation on Feb. 24 regarding the 2023-24 Texas Academic Performance Report. He spoke with the News recently about the report that was released in December. “The report contains some very good things, such as our ACT and SAT scores, but there are some areas that have caused us to say, ‘Okay, what’s going on here?’ We’ve started the process of looking at those areas and hopefully it’ll make a difference in next year’s accountability ratings. I believe that accountability is good, it makes us better. But it’s worth keeping in mind that the achievement and growth part of accountability—especially at the elementary and middle school—is based on two tests per grade level in the entire school year. A lot of factors can impact a student on any given day.”
While Llano Elementary scored higher than the state average on the STAAR, it was almost a mirror image at Packsaddle Elementary where scores were at least six points below the state average in five of the seven tests: fifth-grade math (55% district, 77% state), third-grade Reading and Language Arts (60%, 74%); fifth-grade RLA (66%, 79%); fifth-grade science (46%, 58%); and fourth-grade math (62%, 69%), according to the state’s data. The scores at Packsaddle were four points below the state average in third-grade math and fourth-grade RLA.
The demographics of the two schools are different, with almost 80% of Packsaddle’s enrollment considered “economically disadvantaged” compared with just over 60% at Llano Elementary, according to the TAPR.
SCORES RUNDOWN
On the majority of STAAR tests, the district was within five points plus or minus of the statewide averages. In eight of the 20 STAAR tests that are taken by students in third through 12th grades, the district’s scores exceeded the statewide averages by six points or more. In fifth grade science at Llano Elementary, 78% of students passed the test compared with 58% of Texas fifth-graders. Eighty-nine percent of Llano Elementary’s third-graders passed the RLA STAAR, compared with 74% statewide.
Llano Junior High scores are below the state average in seventh-grade RLA, with a passing rate of 68% compared to 74% statewide. Eighth-graders nailed their math assessments with 83% passing the test compared to the state average of 72%. The Algebra I End of Course exam was passed with an 87% rate, compared to 81% of Texas students.
Also in the district’s favor are its experienced teachers: 64% of them have at least 11 years of experience under their belts, including the 7.2% who have more than 30 years of expertise. LISD’s attendance rate is higher than the state average.
When it comes to the A-F ratings that were initiated by the TEA in the 2017-18 school year, the district is on an upward trajectory.
In 2017-18, LISD scored a 79%. The next school year, the district advanced a letter grade with an 88%. Then, COVID-19 spelled the end of the letter grades for two school years so that the last time A-F grades were released was in 2021-22. The district had a 91% at that point.
The past two school years of grades have been blocked by litigation and Payne did not want to speculate on what the grade would be.
To dig into the detailed 2023-24 report as well as past TAPRs, visit tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/accountability/ academic-accountability/performance-reporting/texas-academic- performance-reports. There, anyone can search for individual campuses or districts.
Llano’s students will begin the next round of testing in April.
“We’ll get those results in the summer and we’ll start having discussions about the data,” Payne said. “The next TAPR report (on the current school year) will come out in November or December. In the meantime, I want to continue to encourage parental involvement because that’s key to our success. It’s a team effort.”
