Galena Park ISD presents 2023—24 TAPR: district reports gains, accreditation update delayed by lawsuits

Dr. Kimberly Martin, executive director of accountability and academic support for Galena Park Independent School District, presented the district—s 2023—24 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) at the board—s Feb. 3 meeting, reporting academic gains in several grades and subjects while noting some regulatory updates are delayed by litigation.

Martin told trustees the district projects an "87B" accountability rating for 2024 and has a special education determination of "Needs Assistance." She said the district—s most recent TEA accreditation rating on record is from 2023 and that subsequent accreditation updates have been delayed because of pending lawsuits, so new statewide accountability labels are not yet available.

On student performance, Martin said Galena Park ISD outperformed the state in multiple grade bands and subjects. She highlighted stronger-than-state results in third through sixth-grade math and in several ELA measures at elementary and middle grades, and she noted accelerated-learning gains (students recovering more than one year of learning after previously failing STAAR). Martin said advanced eighth-grade math students largely continue to post strong outcomes and that most students who take advanced eighth-grade math go on to take the SAT or ACT later in high school (the report language recorded "96" for that measure; the transcript did not specify whether that was a raw count or a percentage).

Martin presented lagging indicators from 2023 as well: district attendance at 93.6% (above the state), a lower middle-school dropout rate than the state and a high-school dropout rate slightly above the state. She said the district—s six-year graduation rate exceeds the state—s. On college and career readiness, Martin reported a CCMR (College, Career, and Military Readiness) rate of 81.5% for the Class of 2022, which she said is above the state average; she noted the state has raised the threshold for an "A" classification to 88.

Martin also reviewed subgroup breakdowns, bilingual education performance, staff experience and campus-level metrics available through the TAPR hyperlinks; she said paper copies of the TAPR are available at the district central office and campus sites. On campus safety metrics, Martin reported the district logged four serious incidents districtwide last year involving weapons or controlled substances; those figures, the presenter said, are posted with the TAPR on the district website.

The presentation closed with guidance that TEA glossaries are available in English and Spanish and that several related reports (financial standards and campus performance goals) are posted online. Martin invited questions from trustees; none were recorded in the public proceedings that followed.

The board took no substantive action on the TAPR during the meeting; the report was presented in a public hearing as required by statute and will remain available on the district—s website.