A ‘huge win’ for transparency in Fort Worth ISD. It’s now easier to track kids’ progress

The Fort Worth Independent School District has updated its parent portal to be more user-friendly and provide direct access to students’ state test scores after a local education advocacy group pushed for changes over the past year.

The portal shows grades, progress reports and allows parents to email teachers. It had previously included a brief snapshot of a student’s STAAR test results. But these results showed various score numbers without a key to provide context about what the scores meant or how they compared to other students.

As of last month, the district portal links to the state portal where parents can view what percentile their child scored in and how their child’s scores compare to the state, district and campus results while also viewing specific test questions and their child’s answer for each. This provides easier access so parents don’t have to track down various access codes to view the state portal.

Parent Shield Fort Worth wants district parents to be aware of the update so they can track their child’s academic progress and areas for improvement more efficiently.

“That’s a huge, huge, huge, huge win, especially for parents being able to get transparent information, which is what we’ve been pushing Fort Worth ISD for,” said Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, the group’s executive director. Dorsey-Hollins added that it’s also more user-friendly and easier to navigate for families, calling the district’s previous version “unacceptable.”

The update launched after Parent Shield Fort Worth discovered about a year ago that there was a lack of information about STAAR when comparing Fort Worth’s portal to those of nearby districts, such as Crowley. Since then, members have been putting pressure on the district to update it by meeting directly with school board members and calling attention to the issue during public comment at board meetings.

District officials said they work with their software vendor “to test and deploy software release every two months,” and the newest release was done on April 12. The update came without financial cost to the district, officials said.

“This update enhances student engagement, personalizes learning, and facilitates communication between schools, families, and students,” district spokesperson Cesar Padilla said in a statement. “In addition to features like student grades, calendar, attendance, etc., the user can pass credentials straight through to TEA’s Texas Assessment Portal.”

The district portal is available to all parents with children enrolled in pre-k through 12th grade and first launched in fall 2019, according to the Wayback Machine, which archives web pages over time as they change and update.

Superintendent Angélica Ramsey also highlighted the update in her weekly newsletter last week and provided a step-by-step instructions to access the scores.

“Families, you will now be able to view STAAR scores through Parent Portal once they are available. This makes it easily accessible for you to review!” Ramsey wrote.

The results for end-of-course assessments that are taken throughout the school year by high school students will be released on June 7, and the results for third-through-eighth-grade STAAR tests that were taken in the spring will be released on June 14, TEA officials confirmed this week.

Melony Watson, a Fort Worth parent whose son is finishing 11th grade at Arlington Heights High, said this year will be the first time she has access to additional information about his test results, beyond whether he met grade level standards and passed. He previously attended a charter school before transferring to the district for the 2023-2024 school year, but Watson said communication about access to scores has been minimal in the past four years he’s taken STAAR tests. She was unaware that the state portal existed until connecting with Parent Shield Fort Worth.

It’s especially important to understand the full scope of her son’s scores this summer before he starts his senior year, so he can address subject areas that need improvement before returning to school, she said.

“This is something that’s very much needed because we get all of the hoopla about, ‘Make sure they’re sleeping and make sure they’re getting a good breakfast and make sure they get up on time.’ And then we never actually see the schoolwork,” Watson said. “For me to be able to actually access his scores is something that I really appreciate, and I can keep track of how he’s doing.”

State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores for the 2022-2023 school year, released last August, showed Fort Worth reading scores had dipped a few points compared to the previous year in the newly reformatted test, which every student took online for the first time. According to the results, 32% of third-grade students scored on grade level in reading while 60% either approached or met grade level. In math, third-grade students stayed stagnant with 27% in the district scoring on grade level two years in a row. There was a slight increase for students who either approached or met grade level with 57% meeting this mark.

The Go Beyond Grades campaign, a national initiative active in Tarrant County and Fort Worth, has brought attention to the disconnect between a student’s report card and a student’s state test scores while encouraging parents to seek further information about their child’s true academic performance. As STAAR test results are released this summer, parents are encouraged to prioritize summer learning and tutoring for their child in needed areas and seek out local resources. Information on multiple programs in the area offered by community organizations and school districts can be found on the campaign’s Tarrant County webpage.

“More than 90% of Tarrant County parents think their kids are at grade level. 50% of kids actually are,” according to the local campaign.