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Standardized testing results released by Houston ISD on Tuesday show its elementary students exhibited year-over-year improvement in most of the subjects and grade levels that were part of the annual STAAR exam, which state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles described as a pleasant surprise.
The percentages of HISD students who met grade-level standards in reading increased in grades 4-8, with a 7 percentage-point increase in sixth grade and a 5-point increase in fourth, according to spring 2024 data released by the school district and 2023 spring data previously released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). HISD also saw growth in its math scores for fifth, sixth and eighth grades, along with its eighth-grade social studies scores and its science scores for fifth and eighth grades, according to the district.
"These results far exceed expectations for year-one growth," said Miles, who about a year ago was appointed to lead Texas' largest school district. "This level of growth, even I didn't expect."
Students’ performance at individual schools, within districts and across the state is categorized by the TEA as not meeting grade level, approaching grade level, meeting grade level and mastering grade level. Scores approaching grade level and higher are considered passing by the state agency.
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The TEA is expected to release statewide STAAR results for grades 3-8 on Friday. HISD released its own scores preliminarily, much like it did last week for the STAAR scores at the high school level.
And just like the high school scores, HISD saw year-over-year improvement overall and particularly at the 85 campuses that are part of Miles' New Education System (NES), according to the superintendent. He said those schools saw even greater percentage-point increases than the district as a whole, with the percentages of students meeting grade-level standards improving at every grade level in both math and reading at the NES schools.
An additional 45 schools will transition to the NES model next year. The system entails pre-made lesson plans, a greater emphasis on testing-based instruction and higher pay for teachers, among other things.
Students at those NES schools, which for the most part have been low-performing campuses in low-income communities of color, were not as proficient as HISD elementary students at large, the data shows. Still, the results help justify expanding the NES program, Miles said.
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"There was no question it was a tough year, with all the changes, some of the higher expectations and rigor," Miles said. "It was hard for students, hard for teachers, hard for parents and principals, no question about that. I hope you see from the data, most of our kids and our teachers took it in stride, buckled down and did what needed to be done."
HISD's elementary STAAR scores also showed that achievement gaps between white students and those who are Black and Hispanic were narrowed, according to Miles.
The superintendent also asserted that HISD's academic growth, at least in terms of its year-over-year STAAR scores, was among the most pronounced the district has seen and perhaps greater than what other urban districts in the state have exhibited.
Miles also noted that, while HISD's year-to-year improvement outpaced that of the state at large, the Houston district has lower percentages of students meeting grade-level standards than the statewide average. Miles said he expects HISD students to perform even better next year, when his NES program already will be in place and classes will start earlier in August than usual.
"We know that we're behind," Miles said, "and we're closing that gap."