Belton ISD reports mostly stable KPM results; Algebra I gains and 94% CCMR highlighted

The Belton Independent School District Board of Trustees received an end‑of‑year academic and Key Progress Measures (KPM) report on June 16 that district staff said shows mostly stable student performance across state assessments, with specific gains in Algebra I and in college-, career- and military-readiness (CCMR).

Gabby Nino, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, walked the board through results for end‑of‑course (EOC) exams and other KPMs. “A student's score will either be an Approaches, Meets, or Masters,” Nino said while explaining state performance bands and how the district compares over time. She told trustees the district saw a roughly 9 percentage‑point increase at the Meets level for Algebra I and a 7 point increase at the Masters level; biology also showed gains in the Meets band. Nino said English I performance declined and will receive closer review over the summer.

Why it matters: district leaders said the data guide curriculum, professional learning and intervention plans. Nino said the district will perform standard- and student‑level analyses over the summer, drawing on item‑level student responses and collaborative review by curriculum staff, campus leaders and teachers.

Selected KPM and assessment details presented: - Customer‑service baseline: about 1,200 responses collected; overall satisfaction ~85% and four in five respondents would recommend Belton ISD. (presented by Christine, staff member) - Critical thinking: the district met its observational target for Journey of a Graduate competencies; target increased from 63% to 70% and staff reported meeting the goal for observed experiences showing critical thinking. - Onboarding: end‑of‑year surveys for new employees showed strong ratings, with 92.4% of teachers reporting favorable responses on key measures. - Recognition and celebrations: staff and students reported 750 tracked recognitions during the year; 42.9% of those were new activities compared with the prior year, and more than half of recognitions reported no direct cost. - Learning management: analysis showed elementary campuses primarily use Google Classroom while secondary campuses rely on Schoology; the district plans to standardize elementary to Google Classroom and pilot secondary adjustments. - EOC results: Algebra I (substantial gains at the Meets/Masters bands), biology gains at Meets, and a drop in English I prompting further review; Nino said deeper, standards‑level analysis will follow. - CCMR: the district reported 94% of students meeting college, career or military readiness indicators and an anticipated graduation rate of about 98% for the graduating cohort.

Trustees praised the work while urging careful summer analysis. Trustee Jeff Norwood and others highlighted curriculum alignment, collaborative planning and multi‑year investments in teacher learning as drivers of the math improvements. Nino said the district will convene a cross‑functional “guiding coalition” after the July break to analyze item‑level results, cohorts and high‑priority standards and to recommend adjustments to curriculum resources and professional learning.

Speakers and materials: the presentation drew on statewide comparisons, discussion of TEKS and STAAR reporting nuances, and the three performance bands used in Texas reporting (Approaches, Meets, Masters). Nino repeated that district staff will return with deeper analyses after summer work.

The board did not take a separate vote on the academic report during the meeting; the district said KPM targets for 2025–26 were adopted previously and implementation of improvement strategies will continue through summer and into the next school year.