Austin ISD staff on Thursday presented 2024–25 state assessment (STAAR) results to the board, describing modest rebounds in several subjects but persistent and significant performance gaps by economic status.
Dylan Feenan, director of campus and district accountability, led the presentation and summarized key findings: for STAAR grades 3–8 combined, 23 percent of economically disadvantaged students scored at "meets grade level" or better compared with 72 percent of students who are not economically disadvantaged. For STAAR end‑of‑course exams the gap was 33 percent versus 83 percent, Feenan said, calling the disparity “significant.”
Feenan walked trustees through subject‑level trends: reading showed increases in some grades and a rise in middle‑school English I mastery; math demonstrated signs of stabilization after the sharp drops immediately following the pandemic and the 2024 administration; and science showed gains in 2025 after several years of decline, with particularly noticeable improvement in eighth grade.
Presenters explained several assessment changes since 2020 that affect longitudinal interpretation: STAAR moved to universal online testing, added new item types and cross‑curricular passages, and changed writing scoring to an evidence‑based rubric rather than a standalone essay prompt. Joshua Judd, executive director of governance, accountability and board services, introduced the presenters and framed the presentation as focused on assessment results rather than the TEA accountability framework, which will appear in the annual TAPER report.
The district’s Support Resource Index (SRI) — a tool the superintendent has used to prioritize staffing and additional supports at high‑need campuses — was highlighted as a key strategy to address disparities. Feenan said the district will continue staffing priorities such as instructional coaches and content interventionists at higher‑need campuses and will focus on fidelity of multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS) and high‑quality instructional materials to accelerate progress.
Trustees asked for comparisons with statewide trends and for more disaggregated data. Dylan Feenan and other staff said the district tends to underperform the state on measures driven by economically disadvantaged students, while being on par or better in mastery for some groups; staff offered follow‑up materials and said a more detailed TAPER report will be available later in the fall.
The presentation underscored the district’s continuing work to translate investments — curriculum, staffing and targeted supports — into measurable gains and to narrow the gaps evident in the 2024–25 results.