Students sit in quiet rows, their phones tucked carefully into little manila folders and eyes already staring at the hands of the clock. The STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test has begun, an exam meticulously planned and prepared for much of the school year, but there are more to these scores than mandatory tedium.

The State of Texas 2016-2017 Report Card for James Bowie High School was released to the Bowie community January 3, 2018. It contained information regarding student performance on the STAAR, as well as student demographics, financial expenditures, and AP and Dual Credit performance and enrollment. Bowie scored above the district in almost all of the categories involving academic performance.

“I was more than impressed,” principal Mark Robinson said. “Almost without exception there was growth from 2015 to 2016, and 2016 to 2017.”

Bowie also gained five distinction designation in Mathematics, Social Studies, Top 25% Student Progress, Top 25% Performance Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.

“I was very pleased that we had five academic distinctions, that’s the most that we’ve ever had at Bowie for our student body, so that was really excellent,” academic dean Susan Leos said.

However, there were two distinctions that Bowie did not obtain: Science and Reading.

“I think there’s always going to be lower test scores whenever you have such a big student body,” student body president Jimmy Counihan said. “I definitely think those test scores, particularly in reading, aren’t on par with Bowie standards and can be improved.”

Despite those scores, Bowie’s report card is largely a success that the school plans to carry into the future.

“They [the scores] do reflect very well on our student population, on the support of our parents who help their students, and on our teaching staff and all of those things they show; that Bowie is a very academically oriented campus and that we are serious about preparing students for college and for careers in their later lives,” Leos said.