San Angelo Independent School District’s Board of Trustees set itself several goals for the 2025-2026 school year. Improved academic growth was one of them.
The goal is to increase the number of students meeting the expected growth measure for NWEA MAP testing for grades 2-8 for reading, math, English I and English II by 8%, and grades 3-8 for math and Algebra I by 10%.
Of course the ultimate goal is to improve STARR Test results across the District. These results are how districts are graded by the Texas Education Agency in Austin and by the public.
At its February 16, 2026 regular meeting the Board of Trustees meeting, Dr. Farrah Gomez, Deputy Superintendent of Academics and School Leadership, presented the mid-year report on how the District was progressing towards that goal.
The Bottom Line
According to the numbers presented to the Board, the District is progressing towards its goal, though it still has a lot of work to do.
Below are the Expected Growth Comparisons between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 for math, reading and Algebra I.
The light blue columns reflect the observed growth at those grade levels on the mid-year testing in January 2026.
The yellow diamonds note the grade level projected growth norms according to national comparison data. In other words it marks the projected growth for that grade level in those subjects across the country so we can compare how SAISD students are doing compared to the national average.
This chart reflects second grade growth at mid-year well above 8%. Third and fourth grades are meeting the goal as well. Grades 5-8 are still below the goal but have increased to or above the national average.
Reading again sees significant growth mid-year for second and third grades. But starting in fourth grade the growth falls significantly behind the goal. But again those grades appear to be around the norm nationally for each particular grade level for 2-8.
Algebra growth is high for Algebra in eighth grade. This is typically because eighth grades students in Algebra I are the more advance math students. Those that are not as advanced tend to take Algebra I as ninth graders.
Still growth in ninth grade Algebra I is far behind the goal mid-year.
Grade Level Gains
Individual grade level gains during the school year also show an overall positive trend.
In math, all grade levels showed growth on the mid-year exam in January from the previous test last fall. Half of them showed double digit growth.
Reading also showed positive gains, but none in the double digit level. The lowest gain was in ninth grade English. Growth there was a little more than half a percentage point.
Another way to look at this data is to evaluate the percentage of students in each grade that meet or exceed their projected growth measure.
An important point to make before evaluating students based on this criteria is that a student that does not meet or exceed expectations does not necessarily mean the student needs remedial help. A student can be a high achieving student, while also being a low performer.
The critical point in identifying students that aren’t meeting or exceeding their projected growth is to identify those who need remedial help, and to identify when a high achieving student is not being challenged academically.
In math all grades except ninth Algebra I had over 50% of students in that grade meet or exceed expected growth.
Except for ninth grade, all grade levels met or exceeded expected growth.
STAAR Projections
The purpose of all this testing during the school year is to improve SAISD student’s test scores. From the data collected, District staff are able to project performance for the upcoming STAAR test this spring.
Math Grades 2-8
| SAISD Grade | % Not Meet | % Approaches | % Meets | % Masters |
| 2nd | 28.20% | 45.40% | 23.30% | 3.10% |
| 3rd | 27.70% | 40.30% | 27.90% | 4.10% |
| 4th | 34.90% | 31.80% | 22.70% | 10.60% |
| 5th | 25.30% | 33.30% | 26.50% | 14.90% |
| 6th | 32.90% | 36.40% | 23.60% | 7.10% |
| 7th | 42.30% | 25.60% | 23.20% | 8.90% |
| 8th | 39.80% | 31.10% | 26.30% | 2.80% |
Reading Grades 2-8
| SAISD Grade | % Not Meet | % Approaches | % Meets | % Masters |
| 2nd | 13.20% | 40.70% | 32.30% | 13.80% |
| 3rd | 16.20% | 33.70% | 29.80% | 20.20% |
| 4th | 16.10% | 37.10% | 26.90% | 19.90% |
| 5th | 17.40% | 26.90% | 35.00% | 20.70% |
| 6th | 29.20% | 28.70% | 26.80% | 15.30% |
| 7th | 26.20% | 27.90% | 25.80% | 20.10% |
| 8th | 21.80% | 30.00% | 28.20% | 20.00% |
This is a projection based on growth and where the students are at mid-year academically. As educators continue to use this data and targeted approaches with the students these percentages should improve through the semester.
But it does give SAISD a good estimate of where their students are and what adaptations need to be made during the remainder of the term.
The next report to the Board will be a deeper dive into the data and how that data will be used for campus improvement.
The District is on pace to meet its academic goal, but it is important to remember that behind all the numbers are individual students at all levels of readiness. Classrooms are full of students at all stages and with different needs and challenges in and outside the classroom.
The District’s curriculum is now aligned with STAAR and it is gathering the data throughout the school year to help address areas where students are struggling so teachers can make timely adjustments during the year. Not after it.
While there are still many challenges ahead, the positive direction of academic growth is a good sign.
