LONGVIEW, Texas — If you have a child in Texas, you have probably heard of the STAAR test.
"It’s supposed to be a measurement of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills which is what the state says were supposed to be teaching and to the rigor that it’s supposed to be taught". Pine Tree ISD superintendent, Steve Clugston said describing the test.
Just recently, the Texas Education Agency released that statewide STAAR test scores for grades 3 through 8 dropped in multiple subjects.
"The problem is the state tends to change these tests every couple years and then they change the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills," Clugston said.
While statewide averages may have fallen, here in East Texas not all schools are suffering. Pine Tree ISD is very proud of their students and teachers success.
"From 2018, reading particularly, in grades 3 through 8 we've improved about 20% per grade level per test, so we’re really proud of that and that takes just daily investment in kids," Derrick Conley, Assistant Superintendent of Pine Tree ISD said.
Statewide, the scores of grades 3, 5, and 8 dropped 2% in reading and language arts, while science and math scores dropped in all tested grades. But the success at Pine Tree comes from the leaders in the classroom.
"STAAR has definitely increased in rigor, and throughout the year the test is getting harder and harder and we’ve had to adjust our teaching accordingly," Jennifer Bartley, a 4th grade teacher for Pine Tree ISD said.
Together, Jennifer Bartley and Chelsey Cooper have over three decades of experience in the classroom. They have seen the changes being made between years and the difficulty increasing with these tests.
"Now it’s not just here's a pencil and paper, it’s here's your chromebook and here's a problem, instead of just circling your answer I need you to start at the very first step and work your way through it an explain it in words as you go," Cooper said.
Regardless of the statewide results, Pine Tree is one example of East Texas perseverance and feeling confident in their students' success.
"I think that we’ve kind of got a grip on it being that this is another year that we’ve had to work at it and get the strategies down that we need," Bartley said.