STAAR® Reading Reveals 5th & 8th Graders Perform Well on First 2015 Administration

More than three-quarters of the state’s fifth and eighth graders successfully passed the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR^®) reading tests, according to preliminary results released today by the Texas Education Agency. The results reflect passing rates for the spring 2015 administration of STAAR in March.

Seventy-eight percent of fifth and eighth-grade students passed the STAAR reading test on their first attempt. The percentage of fifth graders passing STAAR reading on their first attempt has remained relatively stable over the past four years. In eighth grade, the percentage of students passing STAAR reading on their first attempt has seen a slight decline over the past four years.

READING	GRADE	2011-2012	2012-2013	2013-2014	2014-2015
	5	77%	77%	76%	78%
	8	80%	84%	83%	78%

Under state law, Texas students in grades 5 and 8 must pass the STAAR reading test to be promoted to the next grade. Those students who did not pass these exams have the opportunity to retake the tests in mid-May and will have a third opportunity in June. State law requires students who do not pass these tests to be retained in their current grade – unless a parent appeals the retention and a local, campus-based grade placement committee unanimously agrees to promote them.

To review STAAR state-level reports for all grades, visit the Texas Education Agency website at  http://tea.texas.gov/staar/rpt/sum/.