Fewer than half of Denison ISD students reached grade level on most state tests this spring, and the district's new improvement plan sets a target of 60% across every subject by next spring.
The 2026-27 district improvement plan is part of a package of campus and district plans that trustees will hear presented at their regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. The 91-page district document, generated Nov. 10, lays out where the district says it is falling short and what it plans to do about it.
Where scores stand
The plan lists the share of students who scored at the state's Meets grade level standard on the 2026 STAAR:
- Math, all grades: 39%
- Reading, all grades: 48%
- Science: 47%
- Social studies: 44%
- English I and English II: 49% and 56%
Each figure is up from the year before, the plan says, but it calls the results well below expectations. It states that about 70% to 80% of students should reach that level when core classroom teaching is strong, and it names a root cause for most subjects: the district has focused on getting students to the minimum passing standard rather than on growth.
The targets
The plan's goals for this school year include having 60% of students in third grade through end-of-course exams reach the Meets level on the spring 2027 STAAR in all tested subjects, and having every student in those grades show at least one year of academic growth.
Longer-range goals call for third graders at or above grade level to rise from 42% to 51% in reading and from 40% to 51% in math by June 2028.
