During the 2014-2015 school year, Bryan High earned 5 out of 7 distinctions on the STAAR test and met all standards for the state’s accountability rating.
“The STAAR tests accountability ratings include english, biology, social studies, and math, as well as secondary readiness, which covers how we prepare students for college or technical schools. Principal Lane Buban said. “We do a really good job of getting kids prepared for life after high school, so it’s great that we’ve earned these distinctions during the past two years.
The administration strives to push students to reach their potential and believes they can earn the scores they are working toward by continuing to improve in different areas.
“That’s how we’re addressing our weaknesses.” Buban said. “Doing the things teachers need to do, and doing the things administrators need to do to make sure those things are happening.”
Teachers agree that there is still room for improvement and are encouraged by the gains students are making each year.
“I definitely think we can earn higher scores this year.” English teacher Annette Kirk said. “I’ve already seen an improvement coming up from the middle schools, that’s very helpful, [so] that our scores can get even higher.”
Teachers also encourage students to prepare by practicing their reading and writing, as this will help in all subject areas.
“Students need to remember that reading outside of class is really their number one way of improving their scores,” Kirk said. [I want them to] read for fun, read anything, it doesn’t matter what they read, as long as they’re reading.”
The school’s goal is to earn 7 out of 7 distinctions this year, which would mean that Bryan High showed progress with all the students and closed achievement gaps between sub populations. With this goal in mind administrators are aiming to challenge all students to achieve greater success by challenging themselves in the classroom.
“Some students say ‘This class is too hard’ and I think that all students should experience that on some level in every class, just so that they’re pushed,” Buban said. “We should push them to their potential. That’s one of the things we have to do to move forward and get better as a campus and improve the level of instruction.”
