Meanwhile, the district saw some gains in reading and math scores compared to 2024.
Families can access their child’s results at www.texasassessment.gov.
The overview
The STAAR is administered to third through 12th grade students each spring to measure student progress and teacher performance.
Students receive STAAR scores of “did not meet grade level,” “approaches grade level,” “meets grade level” or “masters grade level” for each subject. Students who approach their grade level and above have passed the test, while students who meet their grade level and above are considered proficient.
Georgetown ISD performed below the state in all but three categories on the 2025 STAAR. The district’s performance was equal to state averages in eighth grade social studies, biology and English II.
GISD student performance was the highest in U.S. history and biology, with 93% and 91% of students approaching grade level, respectively. The district saw the lowest performance in seventh grade math and fifth grade science, with 51% of students passing those exams.
A closer look
Of the 20 grade levels and subjects tested, year-over-year performance in GISD:
- Improved in seven
- Declined in nine
- Saw no change in four
In math, the percentage of students approaching grade level increased by 8 percentage points in eighth grade, 7 percentage points in sixth grade, and 6 percentage points in third grade.
GISD saw the largest declines in fourth and seventh grade math, both of which declined by 5 percentage points. Student performance in fourth grade reading, fifth grade science and U.S. history declined by 4 percentage points.
Zooming in
Each school year, the Texas Education Agency uses STAAR scores and other student data to rate districts and campuses from A-F on student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps for certain student populations.
Cooper Elementary and Wagner Middle School have received multiple consecutive F ratings following the release of 2023 scores in April. This has required GISD to create turnaround plans to improve performance at the campuses.
Performance on the 2025 STAAR was lowest in fifth grade science for Cooper Elementary and seventh grade math for Wagner Middle School.
What they’re saying
“Our board of trustees set a goal for this year to increase the percentage of students reading on grade level from 49% to 58%,” Superintendent Devin Padavil said in a statement to Community Impact. “We have already exceeded that goal, with 64% of elementary students reading on grade level. There is much to be proud of, but we are not yet where we want to be. We must improve math performance by ensuring that student work is appropriately challenging. We must continue to ensure that every student is reading at or above grade level. We are proud of the work our teachers are doing in the classroom, and we expect improved student learning every year. We want the data reported by the state to reflect the outstanding quality of teaching and learning we see in classrooms every day.”
Zooming out
Texas students saw growth in reading and continued to struggle in math, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Statewide, 54% of students met grade level or above in reading and language arts, according to TEA data. Elementary school students saw the largest gains in reading, while middle school performance remained relatively stable, and high schoolers saw modest declines.
“With [reading and language arts] scores now surpassing pre-pandemic levels, we are seeing meaningful signs of academic recovery and progress,” TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in a June 17 news release. “While this year also saw some improvements in math, clearly more work is needed.”
About 43% of Texas students met grade-level standards in math, compared to 50% in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to previous Community Impact reporting, experts found that the pandemic highlighted existing issues with math education, including insufficient training for teachers and a lack of early intervention for struggling students.
Hannah Norton contributed to this article.
