Board hears TAPR summary, state ssessment changes and early planning for AI guardrails

Jennifer Price presented the Keller ISD summary of the Texas Academic Performance Report and walked trustees through assessment, accountability and staffing slides. She told the board that the state’s House Bill 8 will replace the STAR assessment with an SST (Student Success Tool) scheduled for the 2027-28 school year and that the SST is expected to be administered three times per year (beginning, middle and end) with a separate writing component.

"The answer is yes for this spring and yes for next year," Price said when asked whether Keller students would still take the STAR this spring and next school year. On the SST’s turnaround time, Price said the state expects much faster results and staff described a target of about a 72-hour turnaround for scores, which district leaders said could enable quicker interventions.

Trustees raised whether the state might adopt MAP as the vendor for the adaptive SST; staff said the state is soliciting proposals and local advocates can contact legislators and commissioners during a public comment process. The board also heard from a district DEIC (Digital Education/Instructional Committee) conversation that has begun to consider teacher training and safeguards around classroom AI tools. Price summarized DEIC feedback and said teachers wanted guardrails and practical training to ensure AI serves as a tool rather than replacing instructional practice.

Trustees asked whether the SST would reuse MAP data or require duplicate testing and whether faster results would produce useful diagnostic data; staff said many specifics remain uncertain and that the district will monitor state rulemaking closely. The board closed the hearing portion without changes to district testing practice for the current year.