2025 STAAR results: Austin ISD students see reading strides, lagging math scores

What you need to know

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.

Overall, AISD students performed below the state averages in most grade levels and subjects on the 2025 STAAR.

Students performed above state averages in third and fifth grade reading and at the state averages for fourth grade reading, fifth grade science and eighth grade social studies.

A closer look

Of the 20 test grade levels and subjects tested, year-over-year performance in AISD:

• Improved in 10
• Declined in six
• Saw no change in four

Fifth grade math declined by four percentage points, which was the largest decrease. AISD saw the lowest performance in seventh grade math with 37% of students approaching grade level compared to 52% of students statewide.

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.

Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools received their second consecutive F rating in 2023. This has required AISD to create turnaround plans to improve performance at the campuses. The district has begun implementing the state’s Accelerating Campus Excellence, or ACE, model through selecting new campus administrators, teachers and curriculum.

Performance on the 2025 STAAR was lowest in seventh grade math across the three campuses. At Dobie, 8% of students passed the math STAAR test, followed by 11% of Webb students and 12% of students at Burnet.

What they're saying

"We're encouraged by the growth we're seeing in reading rates, which mirror what our internal data is showing and is consistent with growth seen across the state," Austin ISD officials said in a statement to Community Impact. "While this kind of growth is a testament to the work we’ve already begun in early literacy, we know there’s still work to be done as students progress through their educational journey with us. The good news is, we’re not starting from scratch. We’ll build on this foundation while also putting a renewed focus on math as part of our larger school improvement strategy, ensuring all student groups can see high growth across all subjects."

Zooming out

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.