Superintendent reports enrollment shortfall and mixed first-six-weeks assessment results; cautions on comparison to STAAR

Superintendent Dr. Ochoa told the Edcouch-Elsa ISD board that district enrollment is below budget and that early assessment results are mixed across grade levels.

She reported the district is currently at 3,628 students compared with a budgeted 3,706, a shortfall of 78 students; she also said the district is 139 students below last year’s enrollment total. The superintendent said campus administrators are meeting to study withdrawals and student-reengagement strategies.

Dr. Ochoa presented first-six-weeks assessment data for reading, math and other courses. For several grade levels the six-week assessment passing rates were low by the district’s 70% standard. She cautioned the board that the district’s newly adopted Bluebonnet curriculum assessments have fewer questions than the STAAR test and that the shorter tests can create anomalies when compared directly to STAAR results.

For example, she said the Bluebonnet module for a particular test had 11 or 20 questions versus 45 or more for a comparable STAAR test; that difference can show unusual distributions (many students scoring in "masters" and many failing) that merit deeper review. The superintendent and trustees asked for further breakdowns to determine whether many students were narrowly below passing thresholds and for principals to follow up with teachers.

Trustees asked for more detailed item-level reports; Dr. Ochoa said principals have those data and would meet with teachers and principals to examine close cases and provide a more detailed email to the board.

Ending: District staff said they would continue monitoring enrollment and assessment item-level data and would convene a deeper review with campus leaders.