Austin, TX—Preliminary results released by the Texas Education Agency for the new State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) show Austin Independent School District students in grades three through eight met or exceeded state averages on 14 of the 17 tests administered in English.

For these tests, AISD students exceeded the state averages in math and reading at grades three, four and five for the percentage of questions answered correctly. The district averages for fourth grade writing, fifth grade science and sixth grade math also were higher than those of the state.

AISD students' scores are in line with the state averages on six tests:

• Fifth grade Spanish
• Seventh grade reading and writing and
• Eighth grade reading, math and science.

Spanish test-takers in third and fourth grade scored below state averages in the percentage of questions answered correctly. Fifth grade students who took the Spanish-administered tests scored below state averages in reading and math, but were in line with the state averages in science.

"I am proud of our students and teachers for their performance," said Superintendent Meria Carstarphen. "In the days ahead, we will be digging deeper to examine these scores and determine how our students performed when compared with our peers, other urban school districts."

Because STAAR performance standards will not be set by the Texas Education Agency until December, passing rates for the STAAR will not be available until January, 2013.

To learn more about STAAR, please visit www.austinisd.org/staar.

For more information, please contact the Department of Public Relations and Multicultural Outreach at 414-2414.

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