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Bay City ISD presents mixed English assessment results; district details interventions and scheduling changes
Summary
District staff reported uneven results on recent English benchmarks for freshmen and junior high, described writing and short‑response gains, and outlined interventions including targeted tutoring, altered grading practices and plans to align benchmarks with curriculum maps.
Bay City ISD administrators presented assessment data at the April 4 board meeting showing both areas of improvement and declines across recent curriculum‑based assessments (CBAs) and benchmarks.
At the high school level, staff reported that freshman performance rose on some classroom assessments but showed a dip on the full April benchmark. A district presenter said the freshmen diagnostic essay average started at 2.7 (on the district's 10‑point scale), rose to 4.5 on the semester exam and reached 5.4 on a later, teacher‑scored finalized version. The presenter said CBA 5 for the group reached 72%, while CBA 4 and an April full benchmark reflected lower percentages (the presenter said the benchmark was "44%" at one point when describing a decline).
District administrators attributed differences between CBAs and the longer benchmark to stamina and the fact the benchmark is a released STAAR (state) exam with longer passages and writing requirements. To address gaps, the district described short‑term and ongoing interventions: a "rock star" review program, a motivational speaker, targeted small‑group instruction during prime time, Saturday sessions, after‑school tutorials, four hired tutors for focused support, and revised grading practices that counted short constructed responses and some benchmark process elements as grades to increase student buy‑in.
At the junior high, a presenter said the goal (Vision/LSG Goal 5.2) is to increase the percent of eighth graders meeting grade level from a baseline to 52% by August 2025; presenters reported the benchmark performance was comparable or ahead of last year for most subgroups but noted dips on the district's April benchmark compared with earlier unit CBAs.
The board and administrators discussed inclusion models and special education supports. Staff said they are moving to assign an inclusion teacher with English expertise to all English I and II sections next year, and that the district is implementing additional phonics instruction ("Really Great Reading") as a tier‑2/3 intervention while maintaining state‑required Tier 1 curriculum (HQIM).
Board members asked about timing for shifting assessment methods; administrators recommended waiting for statewide STAR/STAAR results and discussed planning assessment changes during summer once results are available. The Lone Star Governance section that included this reporting was accepted by vote (6–0).
