Cameron ISD students score favorably on STAAR test

Despite the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning, Cameron ISD students performed very favorably compared to students across the State of Texas on the 2021 STAAR and End of Course Exams.

Cameron ISD Superintendent Kevin Sprinkles said the recent release of the 2021 STAAR and End of Course Exam results show that Cameron ISD students scored higher than the state average on 20 of the 23 tested subjects, with the same score in one category and scoring lower than the state in only two tested areas. 

“This is an improvement from 2019, the last time the state scored the state assessment,” he said. “In 2019 Cameron ISD scored lower than the state in 17 tested subjects, the same in one area and higher than the state in five subjects. 

While the district saw some of the same issues with math performance the entire state experienced, overall, CISD students out-performed the state and were very competitive with neighboring districts. 

“I am very proud of our students, staff, administrators and parents,” Sprinkles said. “Although the last two years have been defined as challenging by many, I am so very proud that here at CISD we chose to look at this time, not as filled with challenges, but full of opportunities. Our faculty and staff were able to re-frame the way we viewed this time and they worked extremely hard to provide an exceptional education for our students and it paid off.” 

Sprinkles said the district employed a very rigorous and robust digital learning platform when schools were closed in the spring of 2020. 

“This excellent, teacher developed platform was instrumental in the continuity of instruction during the time of closure,” he said. “When school reopened in 2020-2021 Cameron ISD quickly transitioned to in-person instruction for all students. This move to solely in-person learning enabled the district to ensure that the students’ needs were being met and that interaction with their teachers, especially in small group instruction was possible.”

“I am confident that our early move to in-person instruction was key to mitigating a potential tremendous learning loss,” he said. “Although we still have work to do, we are confident with hard work, research-based best practices and the support of our CISD family we can return all of our students to grade-level performance in the very near future.” 

Sprinkles said Cameron ISD is excited about the 2021-2022 school year and all that  is possible for its students. 

Texas Education Agency will not have ratings for the 2020-21 school year.