Houston ISD reports substantial gains in latest STAAR exam results

Preliminary results for the 2023-2024 STAAR Exams indicate that Houston Independent School District (HISD) students have made significant progress in most tested subjects and grade levels. In particular, HISD students showed substantial gains in four of five End of Course Exams: Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and US History. In some instances, proficiency levels have surpassed those recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic.

For grades 3-8, notable improvements were observed in math and reading proficiency. Reading proficiency across all tested grades has exceeded pre-COVID levels, while math proficiency has improved at every grade level.

"HISD students and teachers did exceptional work this school year," said Superintendent Mike Miles. "Now that all results are in, I want to congratulate every teacher, principal, and student on their outstanding effort. More HISD students are proficient in core subjects across the District, and that is an accomplishment to celebrate."

Growth was particularly pronounced at HISD’s New Education System (NES) campuses where student proficiency increases outpaced district-wide growth in most subjects. High school NES campuses experienced at least a five-point increase in every tested subject. In Algebra I and Biology specifically, these campuses saw double-digit growth in student proficiency.

In NES schools, reading proficiency increased by eight points for 5th graders and ten points for 6th graders. Math proficiency also saw double-digit gains among 5th and 8th graders.

The STAAR exams serve as Texas' indicator of student proficiency in various subject areas. Administered annually, these assessments provide a snapshot of academic performance. Typically, one to two points of growth on STAAR is considered acceptable; however, HISD's results show stronger growth with increases of three or more percentage points over the previous year's scores.

HISD focuses on the “Meets or Exceeds” score to measure success rather than the lower “Approaches” standard.

"HISD still has much work to do to increase proficiency for all students," said Miles. "But STAAR tells us that we are headed in the right direction. This data shows we are improving struggling schools and closing achievement gaps that have been too big for too long."

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