Austin ISD board accepts biliteracy monitoring report after presentation on dual-language measures

The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees voted May 8 to accept the district's monitoring report on Scorecard Goal 5, biliteracy, following a presentation by Superintendent Miguel S—egura and district multilingual staff that explained new baselines, methodology changes to language proficiency testing, and an action plan for increasing dual-language proficiency and the number of graduates earning biliteracy recognitions.

The monitoring report covers two goal progress measures: GPM 5.1, which measures the percent of fifth-graders in dual-language programs who earn a level equivalent to a high-school language credit on the STAMP proficiency assessment; and GPM 5.2, which measures the percent of 9th'12th graders in dual-language on track to earn the Austin ISD seal of biliteracy. The board's acceptance was moved by Secretary Gonzales, seconded by Trustee Quintana, and passed unanimously by trustees present.

The superintendent and multilingual education staff told trustees that a key cause of the apparent year-to-year decline in some elementary STAMP results is a change in methodology. The district now requires that, when available, all four STAMP domains (reading, listening, speaking, writing) be counted to determine level-1 proficiency; last year the platform sometimes produced a composite when one domain (often speaking) was missing. Using the new, more rigorous method changes the baseline numbers and the yearly targets the district will use going forward. The administration said it intends to treat the 2024-25 results as a new baseline and will propose adjusted yearly targets to the board.

"We looked at our methodology and decided that when all four domains are available, they should be required to demonstrate proficiency," said Dr. Mary Anne Maxwell, assistant superintendent for elementary academics, during the presentation. "That makes our measure more rigorous and more accurate, even if it changes the numbers compared with last year."

District staff also presented the first-year baseline for the high-school measure (GPM 5.2). The baseline shows 50.8 percent of high-school students enrolled in dual-language courses are on track to earn the AISD dual-language seal of biliteracy; the presentation noted a dip in percentages in 10th and 11th grades and higher rates in 9th and 12th grades. Staff said the pattern likely reflects scheduling choices available to students in high school and that the district is building a real-time Frontline report to allow counselors and registrars to track students' progress across years.

Outliers and bright spots: administrators highlighted Akins Early College High School and Crockett Early College High School as models. Akins led the district with 73.4 percent of students on track; Crockett maintained 66.1 percent and provided the district with an early cohort-tracking template the district has shared with other campuses.

Trustees asked for additional detail. Trustee Hunter asked how many bilingual-certified teachers had completed foundational training tied to the bilingual stipend; administration said last-year data are available and the district is compiling current-year completion figures for reporting. Trustee Kaufman asked about federal Title 3 funding for emergent bilingual supports; staff said losing the historically federal Title 3 allocation would be meaningful for campus coaching and specialist capacity and gave a rough district-level estimate of about $2 million while promising a precise figure in a follow-up.

Next steps outlined in the presentation included: using the revised methodology as a stable baseline for future targets, building Frontline reports so campuses can track in real time who is on track for the seal, continuing professional learning designed to strengthen speaking proficiency and fidelity to the dual-language allocation plan, and launching a multiday biliteracy certification academy to increase the pool of bilingual-certified teachers.

Why it matters: dual-language and biliteracy recognitions are part of the district's strategy to expand postsecondary and workforce opportunities. The administration tied the measures to district priorities labeled "middle school forward" and "postsecondary success." Trustees agreed to have the administration return with updated yearly targets and clarified denominators before the district finalizes targets for the next fiscal year.

Provenance: The board's Scorecard Goal 5 monitoring presentation began in the public record at the board meeting on May 8, 2025. The board discussed and then voted to accept the monitoring report during the May 8 meeting.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are: Superintendent Miguel S—egura; Dr. Mary Anne Maxwell, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Academics; Dr. Susan Diaz, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Academics; Yvette Cardenas, Director of Elementary Multilingual Education; Janeth Medrano, Interim Director of Secondary Multilingual Education; Jacob Reach, Chief Officer of Government Relations and Board Services; Trustees Boswell (board president), Hunter, Singh, Kaufman, Quintana, Whitley Chu, and Gonzales.

Ending: Trustees moved to accept the monitoring report as a formal acknowledgement that they had a satisfactory conversation with the superintendent about how current conditions align with the district's vision for bilingualism and biliteracy. The administration will return with recalculated targets and additional data extracts (including the bilingual-certification training completion rate and the final Title 3 dollar figure).