Carrollton Farmers Branch Independent School District officials told the board on Aug. 7 that the district recorded overall gains on the 2025 STAAR (STAAR 2) administration, with the largest improvements in elementary reading and steady growth in several middle- and high-school measures. Chris Gilliam, executive director of assessment and accountability, presented the results and noted the scores reflect “a ton of dedicated hard work and effort on the part of our students and our teachers and our leaders.”

The district’s elementary reading performance exceeded state and regional percentages for both “approaches” and “meets” grade-level standards in third through fifth grades, Gilliam said, and several elementary campuses posted double‑digit gains in English and Spanish reading. Gilliam highlighted Blanton, Farmers Branch, McLaughlin Strickland and Sheffield elementaries for district-leading growth.

District leaders said the STAAR redesign (referred to as STAAR 2) includes a wider variety of item types — including drag‑and‑drop, short constructed responses and extended written responses — and that classroom exposure to such item types contributed to students’ performance. Gilliam also stressed the difference between the state’s “all students” data and the accountability subset the state uses for A–F ratings, noting the district’s accountability subset often shows higher performance once students have been enrolled in CFBISD for a year or more.

Math results showed gains in several elementary grades, with fourth-grade math making notable progress in the percentage of students meeting grade level. District staff said continued adoption of high-quality instructional materials and refinements to RTI protocols are planned to sustain momentum. Middle‑ and high‑school results showed mixed trends: some grade levels and courses (including Algebra I and high‑school English EOCs) saw improvement, while other measures remain areas for continued attention.

Gilliam reminded trustees that the Texas Education Agency typically posts preliminary A–F accountability ratings later in the summer. He said the district expects preliminary ratings to be provided to districts on Aug. 13 and to the public on Aug. 15, and that districts have a 90‑day window to appeal preliminary scores before they become final. He also said the district would publish a “data to action” book with more granular campus and cohort-level analyses.

Superintendent Dr. Eldridge and several board members praised teachers, campus leaders and the district assessment team for the improvements and said the results will guide instructional priorities and resource allocation for the coming year.