Canyon ISD reports growth in emergent bilingual students; TELPAS and STAAR outcomes reviewed

District staff presented the English as a Second Language (ESL) annual evaluation for the 2024–25 school year and current fall enrollment during the Oct. 20 board meeting. The presenter said emergent bilingual (EB) enrollment increased from 493 last year to 540 this year, a year‑over‑year increase of about 9.5%.

Staff reported 42 languages are represented among EB students and that Spanish remains the predominant language; other prominent languages noted included Swahili and Vietnamese. The presentation covered TELPAS/TOPAS proficiency outcomes: district composite advanced/advanced‑high percentages for K–2 and for grades 3–12 were reported higher than statewide averages in the presenter’s slides. The district reported roughly 50 EB students exited the program in the prior year under the state exit criteria (composite advanced/advanced‑high thresholds and STAAR criteria plus teacher recommendation).

For STAAR EOC results, EB pass rates on English I and English II were identified as lower than elementary pass rates but consistent with the difficulty of those assessments and with many EB students entering high school as newcomers. Staff said comparative data showed district EBs performed at or above state averages for several tested subjects and that the district will continue to submit bilingual waivers where statewide grade‑level thresholds for bilingual program eligibility (20+ same‑language students at a grade level) are not met.

Board members asked whether early exposure to NWEA formats improved outcomes in campuses that did second‑grade intermediate screening; staff agreed to review data and report back. The board took no separate action; the presentation served as the district’s annual program evaluation.