Houston ISD board managers approved a four-part plan aimed at improving State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores, increasing the percentage of graduates with industry-based certifications and improving the outcomes of special education students.

The overview

Superintendent Mike Miles outlined the plan during the board’s Nov. 10 meeting.

Miles said the new plan aims to hit the following metrics by 2028:
  • Improve third grade STAAR reading scores by 15 points
  • Improve third grade STAAR math scores by 15 points
  • Increase the percentage of high school graduates with industry-based certifications from 11% to 26%
  • Improve the outcomes of special education students
While the plan aims to improve STAAR scores for all students, it places greater emphasis on improving Black and Hispanic students’ scores than other student populations.

A closer look


District officials used 2023 third grade STAAR scores as a baseline for how the gains would be measured.
According to the new plan, the average STAAR score for all third grade reading exams would need to improve from 41 in 2023 to 56 in 2028, while the average STAAR score for all third grade math exams would need to improve from 38 to 53.

However, the plan stipulates scores among the district’s Black and Hispanic students would need to improve at a faster rate than other populations.

For the reading STAAR, the plan aims to improve scores for Black and Hispanic students from an average of 35 points in 2023 to 55 in 2028. During that same time frame, scores for white students would need to increase from an average of 73 in 2023 to 77 in 2028, and scores for Asian students would need to increase from an average of 69 to 75.

For the math STAAR, the plan aims to improve scores for Black and Hispanic students by 20 and 19 points, respectively, by 2028. Test scores for Asian and white students are expected to increase by 8 and 11 points, respectively.


Miles said the gains included in the plan would start slowly, with most student populations expected to increase their STAAR scores by one point for the 2024 test.

What they’re saying

Miles said one of the aims of the plan was to close the achievement gap between some of the district’s student populations.

“The difference between our white and Hispanic students, and our white and Black students is too great a gap,” Miles said. “That has been the way it has been for a while, and that's why we need to do really transformative work.”


HISD District IX trustee Myrna Guidry, who has served the board in an advisory capacity since the Texas Education Agency appointed a board of managers and Miles to oversee the district in June, criticized the slow rollout of the plan.

“You're asking for a 1% increase from our children [by 2024], and you're not even asking for it from the Asian and the white students,” Guidry said. “To say it's because of what's going on is truly disingenuous, because we went through a flood, we went through COVID[-19], but not one time did we reduce our expectations of our children.”