STAAR Score Growth Strengthens Miles Strategies

Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles gained more than a little reprieve Wednesday with the return of HISD state test scores that showed gains — some impressive — among the district’s high school students who took the STAAR.

Even more, the gains made in its schools in the new education system from 2023 to 2024 exceeded those of non-NES schools according to the State of Texas assessments of school readiness. The state won’t release statewide scores until Friday, but Miles was allowed to release his own district’s scores early. He couldn’t compare HISD’s results to those of the state or other urban districts, except to say HISD looks good.

Year over year, HISD high school students improved 5 percentage points in Algebra I, 3 points in English I, 5 points in English II, 14 points in Biology and remained steady in State History -United. At NES schools, student achievement improved by 10 points in Algebra I, 5 points in English I, 9 points in English II, 18 points in Biology, and 5 points in U.S. History.

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Improvements made, more to come, says Superintendent Mike Miles.

HISD Chart

“We know we have a lot of work to do,” Miles said in an interview with the Houston Press. “The scores are really good. But there is no mission accomplished sign anywhere in this building. And it won’t, because we have a long way to go.

“So now, let’s get to the results. We did very well. This is one of the best academic years in the district. NES (enhanced) schools are better than the district as a whole, almost twice as high, and elementary and middle school are even better.

“We can’t close the (achievement) gap by 40 points in one year, but we’ve closed it. I knew we would see some growth, but these results far exceeded our year-over-year expectations. »

HISD’s report focuses on students who “meet or exceed” what the state determines to be a “passing” score on the STAAR. It did not include the lower tier of “approaches” giving a passing grade like many districts — including HISD in the past — because Miles said HISD should focus on a higher standard.

Even with the most recent gains, HISD still has not matched scores from pre-pandemic years in Algebra I and U.S. History.

Another reality check — and all districts are doing this — is that while the percentage point growth is impressive, the results show that, for example, even with the gains in biology, an overall score of 54 percent all HISD students meet or exceed and 40 percent in NES schools means 46 percent of students do not fundamentally master the material districtwide and 60 percent in NES schools do not show the mastery that Texas considers a minimum level in this subject.

Even with the strengthening of a special curriculum and teaching method, 71 percent of NES students were not proficient in Algebra I, 74 percent in English I, 68 percent in English II and 52 percent U.S. history.
Test scores – unlike growth – were better in non-NES schools where all numbers were higher to begin with. NES schools were selected because Miles and his administration felt they were most in need of additional academic help throughout the year. In the NES system, which this year placed a special emphasis on reading and math, lessons in those two subjects begin with 45 minutes of instruction, then a 10-minute daily quiz. Depending on the results of these quizzes, students are either sent to a Teams Center for more advanced work or remain in class to receive additional instruction from teachers.

“Even with the growth, we are significantly behind the state in terms of proficiency,” Miles said. “So our task is to make our children grow and if we grow year after year, we will catch up with the state, if not surpass it. Last year, 40 percent of children could read, this year, 44 percent. It’s good.

“Forty-four percent overall is not that good. This is not where we want to land. “

When asked how HISD would avoid a second-grade crisis next year, Miles said his administration was already planning how to avoid that, but he believes the longer school year in 2024-25 and more widespread knowledge of the NES program will mean a smoother flow and less studying. an abrupt transition as was the case this year.

Next year, Miles said science and thinking classes will use the same approach. Eighty-five schools achieved NES status this year, and 45 more will be added during the 2024-2025 year. Miles also said that of the 67 non-NES schools in the district’s West Division, 35 of them used the NES curriculum at least in part, he said. Of the 45 schools that will be NES, 37 of them have already used the NES program,” he said.

“We’re going to celebrate, of course, but we’re going to have to look at all the other types of data. We’re going to look at the missile of the year, the end of the year. We will look at the quality of teaching.
Every time there is a dramatic increase in standardized test scores, the Texas Education Agency wants to know whether all testing procedures were followed – that is, whether there was no cheating .

In anticipation of this, HISD has included a “Reliability of Results” page in its high school results report detailing steps taken to ensure test scores stand up to state scrutiny.

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Testing security at HISD

HISD Chart