High school students in Texas must pass five required STAAR end-of-course exams in order to graduate. Not only are the standardized tests high-stakes for the kids, but they drive school ratings. For English I and II, those exams include multiple-choice and short-answer questions, and essays.
The Lewisville ISD believes incorrect scoring is responsible for some students failing the exams that were administered in December.
It was the scores on the short-answer portion of the tests that got the attention of Lewisville ISD administrators.
According to a memo included with the LISD Board of Trustees meeting packet, the district became concerned when scores were received back from Educational Testing Service (ETS), the state’s new vendor for grading the tests. There was a significant increase in scores of zero on the short-answer portion.
