Fort Bend ISD students continue to perform above the national average on key academic benchmarks, according to the district’s latest standardized testing results, although some gaps remain in middle school math.

At the Oct. 27 board meeting, district officials presented beginning-of-year data from the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP test, an online assessment that tracks student growth across the school year compared to national peers.

The findings also prompted trustees to request more details on pre-K enrollment and its impact on early learning, as well as data on math readiness and enrollment trends among eighth graders, whose scores continue to lag behind state and national averages.

“I don't want [these subpopulations] to get lost in the shuffle,” board President Kristin Tassin said. “Many of them need extra support and extra attention, so we need to make sure that we're not falling through the cracks.”

The highlights

Melissa Hubbard, executive director of teaching and learning, said the district’s preK-4 program has seen gains similar to previous years, including in:

• Math, where 84% of students began the year “on track”—consistent with the previous two years. She said the district’s goal is to raise that number to 93% by year’s end, matching last year’s finish.
• Early Literacy, where 60% of students started the year on track in phonological awareness, up two percentage points from 2024, though slightly lower than 2023. The target for spring 2025 is 86%.

Meanwhile, districtwide, reading scores remain “strong,” with students performing at or above the 61st percentile across most grade levels. Kindergarteners averaged in the 58th percentile, which Hubbard said signals an opportunity for additional early literacy support.

Hubbard said while the district’s overall math scores were above the national average, only about 41% of eighth graders scored proficient. She said the number does not include students taking Algebra I or Geometry, who generally perform higher, a factor officials have previously stated lowers the overall eighth-grade average in state assessments.

The moving parts

In addition to MAP tests, Chief Academic Officer Adam Stephens said the district relies on assessment tools to inform professional development for teachers, including:

• State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, which is given once annually to assess mastery of grade-level standards compared to state peers
• District-based assessments, which are regularly administered tests that help teachers adjust short-term instruction

“MAP is really just one leg of a three-legged stool that we use in the district,” Stephens said. “MAP is focused on measuring individual growth in current achievement across a wide range of skills, while STAAR looks at how well the students did at the end of the school year.”

Moving forward

Stephens said the district will continue to support campuses in using assessment data to guide Professional Learning Communities, interventions and instructional planning. He said administrators will present a mid-year update to the board in early 2026 to track progress toward end-of-year academic goals.

Additionally, several board members requested follow-up on the data, including:

• Eighth-grade math course enrollment breakdowns
• Fifth-grade math pathways and readiness for accelerated courses
• Analysis of pre-K participation and kindergarten readiness