This week, Dallas ISD found out that it had a lot to celebrate. And the Erickson household did, too. STAAR scores were released, and in both cases, there was a lot to be proud and happy about, but also plenty to still work on. Tiny, our incoming freshman, passed all four of his tests, and came quite close to the highest level—Masters. Dallas ISD outpaced the state averages on several subjects and grades, and made strides in others. (Commit Partnership has a terrific, easily digestible breakdown of those scores that you can access here.)

But something even more encouraging happened a week before, when Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde briefed the Dallas ISD school board on another tool the district uses. That tool, called I-Ready, provides granular, nearly real-time data for teachers and staff to use when determining when to pivot, when to review, and which students need more support. It also tracks progress in ways the STAAR test doesn’t, by showing the growth that happens during the school year. “We actually know from the beginning of the year to the end of the year what happened with student growth,” Elizalde said.

That’s different from the STAAR, which only measures year-over-year growth, and it is administered when there are still three weeks of school left. “A lot can happen between May and the beginning of August,” she said. The STAAR doesn’t account for that, but thanks to additional tools, Elizalde says, “I can show growth.” And not just growth on the campus and district level, either. “ It does drill all the way down to a campus, a grade level, to a content, to an individual teacher, and probably the most important, to an individual student.”

As the second-largest school district in the state, Dallas ISD also has a higher percentage of at-risk students than most districts. However, in a new era where school vouchers will ostensibly allow more families to consider private schools, knowing that the district in your own backyard is creating data-driven, effective policies is something we can all be proud of—and factor into our school choice calculus.

☀️Forecast. Hi. Welcome to summer in Texas. Remember all that rain? Yeah, you probably will not see any more of that for weeks. It is the time of the year when your car seat burns your sit spots and the hot air inside your car sucks your will to live when you open the door. Happy Monday everyone! Reach out if you need Sonic drink and booze pairing advice.

🎶Now playing. “Hot In It,” by Tiësto and Charlie XCX