Earlier this month, we celebrated some amazing education news. Dallas ISD students made remarkable gains on students throughout the state, and in some cases surpassed state scores, on the 2024-25 STAAR test.
That includes a 3 percentage point gain in the number of students meeting state standards across all subjects and grade levels.
That may sound like a small number. After all, what’s 3 points? Remember that this is a district that serves over 139,000 students, most of them low-income and minorities. A 3-percentage point increase means that not just a few students excelled, but something clicked to help propel hundreds of students to success. It also means that DISD has captured some ground on the state overall.
The gains are even better as we drill down in the numbers. Comparing economically disadvantaged students, DISD is now surpassing state scores in all three STAAR categories of approaching, meeting and mastering material in all subjects and grades.
Opinion
That’s not supposed to happen right? Big, poor urban districts are supposed to always fall behind. At least that’s the education narrative that has played out for a long time.
So what gives? How is DISD changing the story?
DISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde sat down with our editorial board earlier this month and that was the biggest question on our minds. As she unpacked the numbers, she told us if DISD can sustain the gains they saw this year, they should surpass state performance in the next few years, even if the state continues to improve. Take that in for a second.
While the state also posted decent outcomes, anytime the district can accelerate faster than the state and measure itself against the high bar the state sets, that is worth celebrating.
Leveling with state averages, or even surpassing them, is so remarkable because DISD’s student population doesn’t look like the state’s, yet they are competing with state outcomes. Statewide, 62% of students are economically disadvantaged. In DISD, it’s about 90% of students.
“And while we don’t demographically look like the state, that’s our measuring stick right now,” Elizalde said.
Even comparing how economically disadvantaged students performed is “one blanket” that doesn’t take into account the level of poverty and how poverty levels may be different for different communities, she said.
Overall, DISD saw marked improvements in all areas, regardless of what groups of students, grade levels or subjects the results were broken down into.
“The message is clear that our campuses, our principals, our teachers, our partners, parents and students, moved kids in a very positive direction, and not just a small sprinkling. There’s a lot of consistency,” Elizalde said.
These STAAR improvements didn’t just happen. They are a testament to the initiatives administrators worked on and the support from educators and teachers in classrooms.
Elizalde pointed to three levers that are unlocking the district’s potential: early learning programs, high-quality instructional materials and the pay-for-performance teacher model known as the Teacher Excellence Incentive. Together, these programs are a deliberate effort to rethink how we approach public education in Texas, and the early results speak for themselves.
Early learning
When the district opened a half-day, pre-K program for 3-year-olds, they were confused why they had so many open seats.
“We know that 3-year-olds are out there. So why weren’t they coming?” Elizalde said.
District officials then realized that parents and caregivers weren’t able to pick their children up from half-day pre-K. The program was there, but it wasn’t best serving the community, so they adapted it.
Now, the district offers full-day pre-K 3 in addition to some half-day programs, and all the seats are filled, Elizalde said. According to enrollment numbers from school officials, this year, DISD had approximately 11,300 kids enrolled in pre-K 3 and pre-K 4.
We know that early access to learning can make a huge difference in success down the line. DISD is only just beginning to see the results of its investment in early learning. After a decline in pre-K enrollment during the pandemic, the first cohort of students who were part of the push for early learning opportunities are just now reaching school age. As we look at the gains made in the coming years, we will likely see these results magnified as students progress through the system.
High-quality instructional materials
Another pillar of the success DISD saw this year can be attributed to consistency in high-quality instructional materials and the introduction of lab time for personalized learning, Elizalde said.
We praised Elizalde’s decision to invest heavily in standard curriculum across the district and in the learning materials that support the curriculum. We are talking about actual books and worksheets in kids’ hands.
A standard curriculum means more structured learning across the district and connections across subjects that support learning in different disciplines. For example, the reading material might buttress the science text. It also enhances the opportunity to advance kids who are getting the material more quickly or to reinforce learning for kids who are falling behind.
This focus on aligning curriculum with student needs represents a thoughtful shift away from one-size-fits-all education. By investing in both quality materials and flexible learning structures, DISD is setting an example of how schools can provide individualized learning that still meets state standards.
Pay for performance
Perhaps the most significant inroad DISD has made is in teacher retention. Dallas’ TEI program, or Teacher Incentive Allotment as it is referred to across the state, has helped retain teachers at a higher rate than the region and the state.
Since the program began in 2014, the district has retained at least 90% of its highest-performing teachers each year.
DISD was one of the first districts in Texas to embrace a performance-based pay model. While other districts are scrambling to figure out how to start this program, DISD has been at it for over a decade. As a result, they are seeing teachers return year after year, and the average teacher salary is projected to top $75,000, according to school officials.
We need to dispense with the idea that our public schools can’t succeed. We need to instead recognize that they not only can succeed, but that they will succeed, if the right reforms are implemented.
These gains in STAAR achievement are not just scores on a standardized test. They are a testament to DISD’s belief in the potential of every student. The future is bright for DISD, and we are excited to see how far they can go from here.