Belton ISD says fall screeners show mixed results; district outlines classroom supports and coaching

Belton Independent School District staff on Monday told the school board that beginning-of-year universal screeners show both areas of promise and areas needing focused support, and they described a multi-tiered approach to help teachers respond to student needs.

"The word might is really important because it's a screener," said Gabby Nino, a district teaching-and-learning staff member, describing the STAR Renaissance assessment the district used as a universal screener. Nino said the screener gives a quick "dipstick look" at students that signals where educators should dig deeper and provides both achievement scores and growth projections.

The presentation compared year-over-year grade-level snapshots (different groups of students in the same grade) with cohort measures (the same group of students across years). Nino said the district's STAR data indicate the third-grade cohort is on track to exceed district-set House Bill 3 targets for reading and math for June 2026; she warned, however, that STAR is a screener and requires…