On this day a year ago, I was feeling pretty despondent. The 8th grade Social Studies STAAR test preliminary results had just been released, and I felt like I had done my students a disservice. While 75% of my students had reached Approaches (passed), only 37% had achieved Meets (on grade level), and even more demoralizing merely 16% accomplished Masters (above grade level). The state of Texas established this three tier system of grading for its yearly exam since the establishment of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test. Earlier in the spring of 2025, I had watched the Steplab Documentary, Great Teaching, Unpacked, and knew I wanted to employ certain aspects of the teaching within my own classroom. However, after receiving my results, it no longer felt like a choice, it was a necessity.
To give the reader a little background, the 8th Grade Social Studies test is one that Texas students historically have struggled to pass since its inception in 2013.
While my scores last year were better or equal to the state average, I knew I had to do a better job of planning, asking questions, creating lessons and activities that mirrored the learning goals for each unit and would mimic the type of thinking needed to digest a question and decipher the best answer. In other words, I needed to grow my students’ knowledge and make it more durable.