From Retest to Results: a Structured Approach to STAAR Readiness

Background

Each December, Taft ISD had students preparing for STAAR retests—students who had already fallen short on a previous attempt. For a small, rural district, ensuring these students received the targeted support they needed was both urgent and resource-intensive.

At the same time, staffing constraints meant that advisory teachers were often supporting subjects outside their primary content areas. Students needed consistent, standards-aligned practice, and teachers needed a way to deliver that practice while identifying and addressing skill gaps efficiently.

In SY24-25, through a partnership made possible by the ExxonMobil Foundation, an initiative initially introduced Khan Academy during high school advisory periods to help students tackle their toughest challenges in core content areas. The results were immediate. Within that first year, approximately 40% of December re-testers passed their exams—a success the district largely attributed to the focused practice on Khan Academy that students received during those advisory periods.

Challenges 

• Support students who had not yet passed STAAR: retesters required targeted, consistent practice aligned to specific skill gaps.
• Deliver intervention with limited staffing capacity: advisory teachers often supported subjects outside their expertise.
• Move beyond fragmented test prep: review packets and disconnected practice did not consistently build mastery.
• Identify and address gaps in real time: teachers needed actionable data to adjust instruction efficiently.

[The dashboard] helps me create the activities I want to do...It saves a lot of time...about four to five hours per week." — High school teacher

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Solutions

Step 1: Embed Structured Practice into the School Day

Taft integrated Khan Academy into advisory periods, ensuring students had dedicated time for focused, standards-aligned practice. Assignments were tied directly to STAAR objectives, replacing fragmented review with targeted skill-building.

Step 2: Align Practice to STAAR Standards

Teachers assigned practice aligned to grade-level expectations and STAAR-tested skills, reinforcing classroom instruction and helping students build proficiency in the areas where they needed it most.

Step 3: Use Real-Time Data to Drive Instruction

Teachers used dashboard insights to identify where students were struggling and adjust instruction through targeted mini-lessons or additional practice. This allowed them to address gaps without pausing whole-class instruction.

Step 4: Pilot the Reimagined Classroom Experience

In SY25–26, Taft joined a pilot of Khan Academy’s reimagined classroom experience, which is available to all districts in July 2026 and is designed to reduce friction in student practice and teacher workflows.

Taft incorporated the reimagined experience into its retest intervention strategy, using it in the exact conditions it was designed to support: structured, high-stakes practice with real-time instructional adjustment.

Key elements included:

• Organized learning paths that clarified assignments and expectations for students
• Embedded support through Khanmigo to help students work through challenges in real time
• A consolidated dashboard that brought together student progress, standards alignment, and instructional tools in one place

These improvements helped ensure that structured practice could happen consistently, especially during high-stakes STAAR retest preparation.

What it looked like in classrooms

Teachers used real-time mastery data to make immediate instructional decisions. When students struggled with specific skills, educators could quickly identify those gaps and adjust instruction through targeted mini-lessons or additional practice.

Assignments were aligned directly to STAAR standards, ensuring that practice reinforced the skills students needed for upcoming assessments.

For students, this clarity made it easier to stay on track, complete assignments, and build momentum through consistent practice.

It gives you steps in order to complete a weekly assignment...It's so organized."— High school student

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District-reported Outcomes

• About 40% of December STAAR retesters passed their exams, a result district leaders largely attributed to focused, structured practice during advisory.
• Expanded implementation: Khan Academy grew from advisory use to daily classroom integration.
• About 500 middle and high school students are actively using the platform.
• More efficient instructional planning: One teacher reported saving approximately four to five hours per week.
• More targeted instruction: Real-time data enabled faster identification and support of skill gaps.

What began as targeted intervention is now a broader instructional strategy

What started as a focused effort to support STAAR retesters—and a pilot of Khan Academy’s reimagined classroom experience—has expanded into a broader approach to teaching and learning across Taft ISD.

By embedding structured, data-informed practice into both advisory and classroom settings, the district is building a more consistent system for supporting student progress.

Taft’s experience offers a preview of how the reimagined Khan Academy classroom experience can support districts in delivering structured, data-informed intervention at scale.