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Bastrop ISD Reports Growth in Advanced Academics, Expanded GT Identification and Dual‑Credit Options
Summary
District leaders said efforts to expand early GT identification, OnRamps dual‑credit courses and AP participation are producing gains: district‑level screening and MAP use increased referrals, OnRamps expanded college-credit opportunities, and 294 eighth-graders took the Avant STAMP with 54% meeting multi‑year language credit requirements.
District academic leaders told the board that Bastrop ISD’s investments in gifted-and-talented screening, OnRamps dual-credit offerings and AP expansion are producing measurable gains.
Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Eberly and Advanced Academics coordinator Cheryl Pinkston described a two‑year effort to broaden GT identification beginning in kindergarten, including use of a MAP screener at the district level. "One of the key successes has been how closely our gifted and talented population now mirrors our overall student body," Pinkston said, noting that roughly 60% of recommended students ultimately qualified for GT services.
The district has also expanded opportunities for middle-school students to earn high‑school credit. Administrators reported 294 eighth‑graders were tested with the Avant STAMP, and roughly 54% of those tested met the graduation requirement for two or more years of foreign language credit. OnRamps dual-credit courses have grown since last year: 72 students earned college credit through OnRamps previously, and district leaders said the program will continue to expand to additional subjects.
Administrators highlighted a 6% increase in AP participation for the 2023–24 school year and a 40% rise in the number of students earning college credit through AP courses over the prior period. Trustees asked clarifying questions about participation in girls‑STEM activities and the logistics of testing and support for identified GT students; academic staff said they would continue to refine systems to ensure equitable identification across backgrounds.
