Research shows Istation helps Ysleta ISD accelerate reading skills in two languages 

The Challenge

Located in El Paso, Texas, Ysleta Independent School District is home to 38,000 students with 1 in 4 students (soon to be 3) speaking a language other than English in their homes.

With an emergent bilingual student population, Superintendent Dr. Xavier De La Torre and his team were in need of a tool that could quickly diagnose, analyze, and determine bilingual students' academic levels and gaps. 

Ysleta also needed a solution to help apply assessment data to guide bilingual student instruction and practice with the goal of improving achievement.

The Solution

With such a large population of English language learners, Ysleta ISD turned to Istation Reading and Istation Spanish Literacy to support students in their classrooms. Immediately, they found Istation's assessment data paired with strong tier 1 guided reading instruction allowed teachers to quickly identify student gaps and offer students support at the right time. 

Both Ysleta school leadership and teachers use Istation as a diagnostic tool for lesson building. Teachers know exactly when and how to fill in gaps all while ensuring high-performing students continue to grow. 

Like most schools, Ysleta teachers have very valuable, limited time. To tackle this, they use Istation's ready-made, teacher directed lessons to personalize learning through small group instruction or independent practice.

The Outcome

Istation Accelerates Literacy Gains for Ysleta Bilingual Students

Today, as a result of its partnership with Istation, YISD is seeing big gains. One prime example of growth is the leap in first and second grade reading scores from the beginning of the year (BOY) to the middle of the year (MOY).

Using Istation Spanish Literacy, Ysleta's first and second grade students outperformed the rest of the state in Spanish literacy proficiency by more than 30 points. Additionally, Ysleta has a higher proportion of students meeting Istation usage recommendations, which correlates specifically to the gains in second grade reading growth.

Overall, fostering success in Spanish and English takes a strong commitment to increasing teachers' effectiveness and building on students' strengths. Istation is proud to be part of YISD's strategic plan to celebrate and support this unique student population!