It is easy to feel discouraged after the mixed results in the latest STAAR data set. Last month, the Texas Education Agency released scores showing that progress has slowed and the percentage of students meeting standards declined by one percentage point in Dallas County and across the state.
While this stagnation in reading and math scores in state academic assessments signals that pandemic learning losses linger, a closer look at Dallas County school districts shows that some are defying the trend.
One such outlier is Cedar Hill ISD, and its above-average performance is worth examining. In this district, the number of students meeting state standards in fourth-grade reading and math grew by more than five percentage points year to year. In sixth grade, the number of students who met reading and math standards grew by over 10 percentage points, the Commit Partnership reported. The district has consistently improved its academic performance over the years.
What is Cedar Hill ISD doing? The answer points to a mix of practical academic strategies, consistency in school leadership, parental involvement and accountability. The old saying rings true: It takes a village. The progress is remarkable for a school district where two-thirds of the student body are economically disadvantaged.
Amber Shields, managing director from Early Matters Dallas in Commit, underscored several strategies implemented by the district of about 7,000 students. This includes early intervention for students at risk of failing a subject, professional development for a younger teacher workforce and high-quality instructional materials. The district has also enhanced how it engages with parents. Cedar Hill ISD conducts workshops to keep families informed and provide them with resources and materials for at-home support.
“This means that these students are on a path to living wage attainment. … It begins with our students meeting these important benchmarks in school,” Shields told us.
Most important, the district has had consistent leadership. Gerald Hudson in Cedar Hill is one of three superintendents in Dallas County with a tenure of five years or more. The other two are Ricardo López in Garland ISD and Magda Hernandez in Irving ISD.
Cedar Hill is not the only bright spot: DeSoto, Irving, Lancaster and Mesquite school districts are also exceeding the average statewide growth in performance, according to Commit.
Across Texas, the overall picture is grim, with only 40% of eighth-grade students scoring at grade level or above in math. There is an urgency to change this picture. The state’s economic momentum and innovation need a strong local talent pipeline.
While parents in other Dallas County districts may be disappointed in those districts’ results, there is a silver lining: Many districts are employing the right strategies to raise student scores, Shields said. But results take time.
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