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Liberty Hill ISD trustees hear TAPR presentation; district reports outperforming state and region
Summary
District staff presented the 2023-24 Texas Academic Performance Report, saying Liberty Hill ISD outperformed region and state averages on multiple tests; a public commenter criticized the report and trustees pressed staff on how the numbers are measured and used. The board did not take policy action on the report.
Liberty Hill ISD trustees on Feb. 18 heard a presentation of the district's Texas Academic Performance Report for 2023-24 and a related results-driven accountability update, then opened the floor for public comment and a lengthy board Q&A.
Todd Washburn, who led the presentation for district staff, said the TAPR data show Liberty Hill outperforming region and state averages across reading, math and science at the "approaches" performance level and cited other indicators of student success. "We are outperforming the region and the state in all these areas for approaches, meets and masters," Washburn said, while warning some data are lagging and come from different reporting years.
Washburn and other presenters highlighted several specifics: CTE participation at about 25% of students, a reported increase in industry-based certifications from the low hundreds to 775 in the most recent reporting window, a graduation rate above 99%, and district-level growth measures showing a majority of students meeting or exceeding one year's worth of academic growth on annual assessments. Staff also noted a rise in special education identification and called out areas of disproportionality that the district will continue to address.
During the public hearing portion of the meeting, resident Jim Dillon said the TAPR and its statistics were "disappointing and discouraging" for him, questioned whether students receive basic grammar instruction and urged the district to examine how tests and accountability are used. "I learned nothing new about the Liberty Hill School District other than what I already knew," Dillon said in his three-minute comment.
Trustees followed with technical questions about the state's STAR scoring system, the difference between "approaches," "meets" and "masters," and how the district uses campus- and grade-level data to target instruction. Washburn explained the mechanics of the percentages and emphasized that the work of teachers and campus leaders in identifying skill gaps, using flex groups and providing targeted intervention is the primary driver of improvement.
Ella Hussey reviewed the results-driven accountability framework for special education and pointed to areas where the district maintained strong performance as well as areas flagged for improvement; she noted the district's overall special education determination was level 1, the state's designation for "meets requirements."
Board members asked the staff to provide additional breakdowns on items that will help tracker progress, including AP exam percentages year-to-year and per-course performance rather than only raw counts. Washburn said the district will follow up with campus-level reports and post individual campus TAPR packets to the district website.
No formal board action was taken on the TAPR itself; trustees asked staff to post the TAPR and supporting materials online and to provide additional percentage-based trend information requested by trustees.
What happens next: District staff said TAPR and federal report cards would be posted to the district website and emailed to families, and trustees signaled they want additional disaggregated and percentage trend data in follow-up materials.
