Castleberry ISD outlines interventions to cut high school end-of-course retesters
Summary
Christy Patton, executive director of special programs, told the school board the district is pursuing a five-strategy plan to reduce end-of-course (EOC) retesters by 30%, while acknowledging baseline numbers changed and priorities shifted after implementation began.
Christy Patton, executive director of special programs for Castleberry Independent School District, updated the board on the district improvement plan focus for 2025–26 and detailed steps aimed at reducing high school end-of-course (EOC) retesters.
Patton said the district set a goal to decrease retesters 30% in algebra, biology, English I, English II and U.S. history, but that the retester counts changed after staff began implementing the plan and auditing data. “These are the current numbers, and where we stand as of today,” Patton said, noting the district would update the DIP (district improvement plan) to reflect revised targets.
Patton described five strategies the district is pursuing and said she has emphasized two so far: ensuring students are enrolled in appropriate courses and creating a tutoring program targeted to retesters. She said the district has created a retester portfolio — a single spreadsheet that lists every retester by content area and tracks last test scores, interventions and attendance — and that professional learning communities (PLCs) now have dedicated time to review individual student plans.
Patton explained the difference between a “blitz” (a short, daylong pull-out focusing on high-priority skill stations) and a “boot camp” (a multi-day in-class or near-class shutdown prior to a test). She said biology retesters largely sit in an environmental science retester class; algebra retesters are in an algebraic reasoning retester course. There is not currently a retester course for English or U.S. history, so staff are exploring pulling students during the school day from electives or credit-recovery programs such as Edgenuity.
Patton identified 38 students who are retesters in both English I and English II as “high priority” and said staff have run targeted sessions for ELA 1 and 2 in recent weeks. ACE (after-school tutoring) has been repurposed: the district is moving away from primarily using online practice tools toward teacher-led, content-expert tutorials during ACE sessions. Patton said upper administration has begun walkthroughs and that attendance tracking for ACE is being added to the retester portfolio.
Board members asked about student goal-setting and communications with families. Patton said student-led conference days will include STAR scores and review of retester plans so that students can discuss intervention options with families. She said the district will continue implementing the first three procedural steps this year and will plan blitz/boot-camp options closer to spring testing.
Patton closed by noting the district is still refining the goals and interventions as new data are audited and added to the portfolio.
Ending: The board did not take formal action on the item; Patton said staff would return with updated DIP numbers as the portfolio and PLC work mature.
