Lubbock ISD reports mixed STAR 2.0 results, outlines targeted supports for middle‑school math and reading

Lubbock ISD staff reported mixed results on district assessments Wednesday and described a set of immediate and longer‑term steps to boost student performance, with particular focus on middle‑school math and writing.

District staff said some grades and subjects showed solid gains compared with last year and between the first and second nine‑week benchmarks, but that changes tied to STAR 2.0 item types and recent shifts in science standards complicated direct comparisons. Kim Callison, a Lubbock ISD staff member, opened the presentation by noting the district’s “North Star goal is to have 80% of our students in A and B campuses by 2026.”

The district emphasized two sources of measurement difficulty: new STAR 2.0 item types (including paired passages and text‑entry/math items) and changes to science standards and curriculum. Callison said the paired passage format — two texts that students must answer about individually and together — “is very difficult to do,” and she cited that change as a likely factor in some lower third‑ and fourth‑grade reading percentages. She also told trustees that “Writing continues to be a struggle and revising and editing.”

On math…