Diving in deeper
The Texas Education Agency released STAAR scores for school districts across Texas on Aug. 16, including HISD’s scores for third- to eighth-grade students who were tested in English or Spanish in the core subjects of reading, math, science and social studies.
Public school students must perform to at least the standard of approaching grade level to pass the test. For the spring test results:
- Of the 22 total tested subject areas, HISD improved in 12 subjects from 2022 to 2023 and saw no change for two subjects.
- Eighth-grade reading students scored the highest with 82% approaching grade level, while the lowest-scoring group was fifth-grade Spanish science.
- Fifth-grade Spanish math saw the most improvement from 2022 to 2023 with scores jumping from 39% to 56% approaching grade level.
Because the STAAR was redesigned in 2023, this year's scores cannot be directly compared to those of previous years.
According to House Bill 3906, the STAAR was taken almost exclusively online for the first time this spring, and students took the writing exam, which was not administered last year, as part of the reading and language arts assessment. Students requiring accommodations could still complete paper exams.
- HB 3906 in 2019 mandated a redesign to “better align the test with classroom instruction,” officials said.
- The TEA said the redesign was a multiyear collaboration among the TEA, state educators, students, parents and community members.
Zooming out
Statewide, students have recovered from reading and language arts learning loss due to the pandemic, according to the TEA. However, data shows schools are struggling to bring scores to prepandemic levels in math.
Families can view their child’s individual exam scores at www.texasassessment.gov.
