HISD elementary and middle school STAAR scores improved in 2024

Houston ISD students in dozens of renovated elementary and middle schools reported above-average growth on the state’s major standardized tests this year, while the rest of the district narrowed the gap with students across the board. the state, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the district.

In the first year of a polarizing state takeover, the percentage of HISD elementary and middle school students scoring “on grade level” or above in math and reading increased in almost all school levels, according to the figures.

The roughly 70 elementary and middle schools that saw major changes in teaching and learning this year under new Superintendent Mike Miles’ “New Education System” outpaced the rest of the district in most categories. In reading and math, they saw an average increase of 7 percentage points in the share of students performing at or above grade level, while other schools saw an increase of 1 percentage point.

Data shared by HISD showed the district’s growth outpaced the state in all subjects and grade levels, although the state’s data won’t be publicly available until Friday. HISD administrators allowed Houston Landing to review state averages on the condition that the data not be released until it is made public later this week.

Miles, appointed by the state in June 2023 because of sanctions against HISD, said the results represented “one of the best years of academic growth” on record in the district.

“Even I didn’t expect this level of growth,” Miles said. “We are very proud to have made great progress this year.”

HISD saw significantly higher growth in 2021-22, the first full school year of in-person classes after sharp declines in scores during the pandemic. The district also made similar gains in 2016-17 and 2017-18, although those improvements largely reflected statewide trends.

It will be several months before the Texas Education Agency finalizes the results of the tests, known as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, but the numbers released by HISD on Tuesday were the subject of an initial round of state controls, the district said. said.

The new data for third through eighth grades comes a week after HISD released its end-of-year exams for high school students, which showed similar levels of growth.

HISD did not release data Tuesday on the number of elementary and middle school students who took the STAAR exams. All students in grades 3-8 must take the reading and math tests, with few exceptions.

Data released last week showed a drop in the number of students taking high school tests, known as end-of-course exams, compared to last year. The decline was significantly higher at several of HISD’s renovated high schools, which could make it harder to compare 2023 results to 2024. Not all high school students take end-of-course exams every year.

Miles said Tuesday that any fluctuations in applicant numbers reflect changes in enrollment, which has dropped in HISD this year. However, declines in test-takers on some campuses have outweighed enrollment losses, according to state data.

Miles cautioned that HISD still has a long way to go to maintain this level of improvement in the years to come. However, if HISD students show the same level of learning on state tests for two more years in a row, that could be enough to begin the process of ending state intervention, he said. declared.

“There is hope that we can move to elected board status relatively quickly,” Miles said.

Asher Lehrer-Small covers Houston ISD for the Landing. Contact him at [email protected].

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