Pittsburg students do better than state average on STAAR Test

The Texas Education Agency recently released the 2021 STAAR test results, showing the average across the state. Due to the continued distance learning guidelines in schools, students across the state had to take the test online. 80-90% of Pittsburg students have taken STAAR tests online this last year according to PISD Superintendent Terry Waldrep.

Pittsburg students have done better than the average in almost every test this year. Even the district’s lowest test average, that being 6 grade reading at 64% pass rate, beats out the state’s average of 61% in the same category.

The highest pass rate for PISD lies in 5th-grade math at 99%, while the state lags behind at 69%. Reading and writing have struggled this year, especially due to online testing, while social studies and mathematics have excellent scores all throughout the schools.

Fifth-grade students scored the highest in the district, with 99% in mathematics, 92% in reading, and 93% in science. 8th-grade science suffered this year at 65%, the only test to be below the state average of 67%, but the school board says that is more than likely due to the nature of online testing when it comes to charts and readings and is the only test to do worse than the state average.

“We are so proud of our students and staff and how they responded to the challenges of this past year,” Said PISD Superintendent Terry Waldrep, “Our staff remained steadfast and determined to continue to provide the best for our students. Our students were awesome in the way they prepared and performed on the test.” Waldrep also commended the community for their part, saying, “The PISD community was instrumental in providing support to our students and staff, which shows that this past year was no doubt a team effort.”

Texas’ average STAAR test pass rate is around 60- 65%, while PISD lands around 80-85%. Texas struggled to keep test scores high, especially amid COVID-19. STAAR tests were cancelled in 2020 and implemented again in 2021. Pass rates decreased by 16% in mathematics and only 4% in reading in 2021 compared to 2019.

Test averages varied across the state depending on various factors, such as the number of economically disadvantaged students, or the amount of in-person students versus the number of remote learning students.