It’s the 1992 Olympics, and British sprinter Derek Redmond was a favorite, in the lead and headed for the finish line and the finals of the 400 meters in the Barcelona games. He hears a “pop” and falls to the ground. A severe leg injury has eliminated Derek’s dream of a gold medal. With severe pain, sorrow, and no chance of making the finals, Redmond refused to give up and continued to hobble towards the finish line. This moment may have been forgotten had Derek’s father not jumped from the stands to help his son complete the race. With steps to go, he let go of Derek, allowing his son to cross the finish line by himself.
Despite incredible odds last year and while our kids, our educators, our families, and our community may have stumbled at times, we never stopped. We progressed to the finish line by helping each other, the Wylie Way. One measurement of grit and determination to finish strong is STAAR results. Schools across Texas, the United States, and globally struggled to open schools, we not only finished, but we also THRIVED!
Thousands of tests were administered and many grade levels were measured. Across the board, Wylie kids just made hope happen with results that doubled and sometimes tripled Texas averages. For example, around 20% of 4th-grade students across the state of Texas mastered STAAR math. In Wylie ISD, more than half of our kiddos met the highest standard. This ranked Wylie kids among the top 10% in Texas!
Make no mistake, everyone struggled. We have realized nothing replaces in-person learning. With drops in scores compared to 2019, the ground will need to be made up in 2021 regarding student learning. Thanks to the hard work of our kids and amazing educators throughout the year, our deficits are minimal compared to most in Texas and the United States. There were even a couple of areas that experienced increases in student achievement, compared to 2019. For example, 65% of Wylie ISD 3rd graders achieved the “meets” standard in 2021, this was a 3% GAIN from 2019!!!! WOWSERS!
Our grit was not limited to elementary students, our kids across every grade level achieved much higher than their Texas counterparts. Only 65% of Texas high school freshmen were successful on their English Language Arts End-of-Course assessment as a requirement for graduation. This compared to almost 90% of Wylie students meeting this standard! We could provide chart after chart celebrating our kids and educators. We are so proud!
For all Wylie ISD scores, please follow this link to our performance data tables. On behalf of the kids and community we serve, these results are one measure of what we can do when we work together and choose to thrive! THANK YOU for your support, your grit, faith, trust, and sense of community that kept our kids moving toward the finish line, the Wylie Way!
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