Irving ISD’s growth in the last year-and-a-half, in absolute and in relative terms, has been quite significant. Using the Level 2 Final Recommended (postsecondary readiness) passing rate, Irving ISD outgrew state performance on 17 of 21 STAAR exams from 2014 to 2015—closing its gap with the state by more than 8% on the English I and II and 4th Grade Math exams, respectively. Moreover, Irving ISD continues to shine nationally in Advanced Placement (“AP”) exam participation and success rates, and the district also projects improving its high school graduation rate by more than 5% from 2014 to 2015 when their final 2015 graduation rates are released.
Behind Irving ISD’s impressive growth is a set of newly-established, mutually-reinforcing practices encompassing, but not limited, to:
- Fidelity to a clear set of guiding principles
- Concentration on collaborative leadership, both within and across campuses
- Data-driven, continuous curricular improvement
- Prioritization of attendance growth and dropout prevention
- Student-centered focus, in principle and practice
As the district continues to improve upon the new systems and initiatives developed, it is instituting new programs to improve every child’s early learning experiences and outcomes while better supporting the language needs of its largely English Language Learners (ELL) population (41% of all students).
Given its innovative approach and its recent successes, the Partnership will continue to track Irving ISD’s progress and share additional insights with the greater community.
As we continue our blog series, we will explore some of the policies and practices behind the bright spots in Dallas, Grand Prairie and Irving ISDs. You can download the complete bright spots PDF here. To automatically recieve the next installment in this series, fill out the form below or check on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag “#DallasBrightSpots”.
