The Tyler ISD board of trustees meets on Monday June 17, 2019. Pictured from left: Superintendent Dr. Marty L. Crawford, Rev. Fritz Hager Jr., Rev. Orenthia Mason, Wade Washmon, Andy Bergfeld, Aaron D. Martinez, Dr. Patricia Nation and Freeman Sterling. (Sarah A. Miller/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

The Tyler Independent School District saw major changes at elementary and middle school campuses this year, but preliminary results from state-mandated testing show students maintained academic progress.

Thousands of Tyler ISD students attended different campuses as a result of a districtwide campus attendance rezoning initiative, the closure of Dogan Middle School and the shifting of Caldwell Arts Academy to a full arts magnet.

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Christy Hanson said preliminary results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness show that overall the district maintained improvements it saw last year and also saw areas of growth. Hanson said the data could change some as other factors, such as results from retests, are accounted for.

Hanson credits the results to a literacy push and increased teacher training on foundational skills, such as phonics.

“Overall we are pleased with the results,” she said. “We really do feel like there will be some celebrating.”

The only decreases in achievement were among third grade students, and the decreases were 3 percentage points or less, which the district deems statistically insignificant.

The third grade results were still an improvement over the 2016-17 school year, though.

Year-to-year comparisons going back further are difficult to assess due to changes in the state’s accountability system and the tests.

With the shifting of attendance zones, it is also difficult to assess year-to-year growth on a class level because in some cases a portion of students in a previous class were at a different campus this year.

The district uses Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, testing throughout the year to track growth on an individual level. Teachers then adjust curriculum and intervention based on the results.

“With a lot of caution, we can track the true data if the test stays the same,” Hanson said. “When we teach the standards at the depth and complexity (necessary), the kids will do well.”

Fourth and seventh grade writing saw the biggest improvements at the district level.

Hanson pointed to improved reading scores in those grades as a reason writing improved.

“We know that if kids become better readers, they’ll become better writers,” she said.

Hanson said the district made the big changes it saw last year in order to put students in the best possible position to learn and grow.

With early childhood literacy remaining the district’s area of greatest need, administrators are hoping some big changes will improve those numbers over the next few years.

Master teachers and campus administrators have started training with the University of Houston’s Children’s Learning Centers to bring better phonetic teaching techniques to their campuses.

The district also recently decided to shutter its Head Start program in favor of districtwide full day pre-K. District officials believe the move will allow greater control of curriculum and the opportunity to bring in hundreds more students, who will be better equipped to start elementary school.

“What we want to do is give every student the opportunity to be an on grade level reader,” Hanson said.

At its June meeting, in which the district made the decision to shift from Head Start to pre-K, officials estimated that about half of the students who will enter kindergarten are currently enrolled in district Head Start or pre-K programs.

Previous newspaper coverage revealed End of Course STAAR results for high school students. John Tyler High School saw big improvements and Robert E. Lee High School maintained the level of results that earned the campus academic distinctions in the past accountability ratings.

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Breakdown of preliminary data for Tyler ISD. 

Grade 3

Math – the district saw a marginal decrease from last year, but still up from 2016-17 school year.

Bonner saw a big improvement with Did Not Meet going from 39 percent to 9 percent

Reading – Small decrease districtwide, but still up over 2016-17

Biggest improvement was at Ramey, which saw a 9 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet

Grade 4

Reading – 12 of 16 elementary campuses saw increases

The district saw a 5 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches, and a 3 percentage point uptick in Meets and Masters

Dixie saw improvement of 16 percentage points in Did Not Meet and Approaches, 17 point increase in Meets and 10 point increase in Masters

Math – Overall, the district improved 4 percentage points in Did Not Meet, and increased 4 percentage points in Masters

6 campuses saw a drop of 7 percentage points or more, Ramey had the most significant with a drop of 20 percent Did Not Meet to 50 percent 

Writing – Up at most campuses

T.J. Austin continues to struggle, with 77 percent Did Not Meet

Grade 5

Reading – Slight improvement in Did Not Meet, up 5 percentage points in Masters

Dixie saw an 18 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches

Math – Small improvements in most categories, up 6 percentage points in Masters

Birdwell had 95 percent Approaches and 45 percent Masters

Science – Slight decrease in Did Not Meet, Meets up by 6 percentage points and Masters up by 7 percentage points

Bonner – 95 percent Approaches 33 percent Masters

Jack had highest Masters rate at 38 percent

Grade 6

Reading – Held even with last year’s rates at the district level

Hogg saw a 13 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet

Math – 7 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches, up 2 percentage points in Masters

Hogg saw a 27 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet

Grade 7

Reading – 2 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet, Approaches

Math –  2 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet, Approaches

Hubbard saw 20 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet, Approaches

Writing – 5 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches, up 3 percentage points in Meets and 4 percentage points in Masters

Boulter saw 11 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet

Grade 8

Social studies – 6 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches, 4 percentage points up in Meets

Boulter saw 20 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet

Reading – District remained level with 6 percentage point increase in Meets

Math – Math scores held level across the district

Science – 6 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches

Boulter saw a 12 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches

Three Lakes saw a 9 percentage point improvement in Did Not Meet and Approaches

Boulter saw a 12 percentage point drop in Did Not Meet