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Kennedale ISD highlights strong early-grade gains, flags middle-school dips in annual achievement report
Summary
Dr. Boot told the Kennedale ISD board that kindergarten and elementary students showed notable MAP Growth and STAR gains, while the district will target support for 6th–8th grades where growth and achievement dipped.
Dr. Boot presented the district’s annual student achievement report to the Kennedale ISD Board, saying early-grade students made “really great” gains while middle grades warrant focused intervention. “Kindergarten math came in at the 62nd percentile and, by the end of the year, was performing above 96% of kindergarten peers nationally,” Dr. Boot said during the presentation.
The report compared MAP Growth (an interim, adaptive assessment) with Texas STAR/STAAR projections. Dr. Boot explained how MAP projections translate into STAR performance and noted the district uses MAP data to shape intervention and campus improvement plans. She highlighted double-digit cohort gains in several elementary grades and strong AP and college-entrance results in the high school cohort.
However, Dr. Boot identified a consistent pattern of weaker results in middle school. “We do see a trend,” she said of 6th–8th grade math and reading, adding that principals and teachers met to craft action plans. She urged attention to vertical alignment and curriculum pacing in middle grades and said campus improvement plans—drafts to be shared in September—will reflect those priorities.
Dr. Boot also noted changes in test composition that complicate year-over-year comparisons: extended-constructed responses and harder items on some state exams likely affected certain declines. She called out biology as an area of double-digit growth and said the district will continue aligning instruction and assessments to state standards.
Next steps: principals will produce first drafts of campus improvement plans in September and the board is expected to review and adopt plans in October. Dr. Boot emphasized that the data will guide targeted supports for middle grades while sustaining strengths in elementary and high school programs.
(Reporting note: Quotes and data above are taken from Dr. Boot’s presentation to the Kennedale ISD Board; state data referenced were described by Dr. Boot as incomplete for some measures.)
