Mansfield ISD students outperformed Texas and regional averages in 2024 standardized testing, meeting many of the district’s goals in a year when schools across the state have struggled to shake stagnant, post-pandemic test scores. Changes to teaching methods and an emphasis on subject-specific teacher training helped boost scores, district officials said during a July 23 school board meeting. view article

In Newsweek’s America’s Education Series, released last week, Cleveland ISD and its Superintendent Stephen W. McCanless were highlighted for the District’s remarkable growth and innovative approaches to education. Recognized in 2019 by the Texas Education Agency as the fastest-growing district in Texas, Cleveland ISD’s student population has surged to more than 12,300, with projections to reach 27,000 by 2031. view article

That's how Arturo Monsiváis described life this year for his fifth-grade son, who attends Houston ISD's Raul Martinez Elementary School. Teachers raced through rapid-fire lessons. Students plugged away at daily quizzes. Administrators banned children from chatting in the hallways. Sitting in the parent pickup line on the last day of school, Monsiváis said his son often complained that the new assignments were too difficult. But Monsiváis, a construction worker, wouldn't accept any excuses: Study hard, he advised. view article

The region's largest district, Houston ISD, will not extend summer school past its July 19 end date after being closed for a week, the district. HISD planned to host summer school for 22 days this year, but cancelations bring the district closer to last year's length of 15 days.the district did not specify how many of its nearly 100 summer school campuses, now listed on its summer school webpage, remained without power when classes resumed Monday. A spokesperson for HISD said Sunday that students would attend a different site if the campus they normally attend does not have power.. view article

The Marshall ISD Board of Trustees were presented with pictures and video renderings of designs for the continued renovations to take place at the high school stadium at their Monday meeting. The presentation was given by a representative of GLS Architects, who showcased several design renderings of the stadium. This included pictures of the design for the second phase of the stadium renovations, following the completion of the fence along Maverick Drive as part of the several items in the first phase. view article

Tyler ISD was awarded the Texas Art Education Association District of Distinction Award for the sixth consecutive year. The district is one of 94 winners chosen by TAEA as a 2024 District of Distinction recipient, which recognizes districts for providing a well-rounded education that integrates visual arts into their curriculum. view article

Argyle ISD joined surrounding school districts in refuting federal changes to Title IX aimed at expanding protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students. The district administration drafted a resolution denouncing the new regulations, saying they threaten to undermine student rights and protections. The board of trustees unanimously approved the resolution July 15. “[Our students] will be safe and protected from any attempted elimination of safe and private spaces for girls and an extreme government overreach that is not tolerated in this district,” Superintendent Courtney Carpenter said. view article

Celina ISD students’ scores improved year over year in most subjects of the end-of-course State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. The gist  Students are tested in five subject areas—algebra I, biology, English I and II, and U.S. history.   Four performance levels are used to measure a student’s score: view article

Educational Results Partnership, a nonprofit organization identifying high-performing schools that improve student outcomes, has named six schools from Round Rock ISD to their 2023-2024 Texas Honor Roll. The Campaign for Business and Education Excellence presents the Texas Honor Roll in collaboration with the Texas Business Leadership Council and other business leaders across the state. The Honor Roll is the only school recognition program based solely on objective student achievement data. Its goal is to find and highlight successful districts and encourage collaboration among educators on best practices for raising student achievement. view article

Following the release of student scores for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness in June, Georgetown ISD staff have shared potential strategies to improve student learning and future test scores in the coming school year. In a nutshell Testing data from the STAAR administered to third through eighth grade students in the spring semester show students fell short of state averages in all areas except seventh grade math, and saw year-to-year growth in fourth grade math as well as fourth and fifth grade reading. view article

University of North Texas names Harrison Keller as next president.  The University of North Texas Board of Regents has named Harrison Keller, Texas’ higher education commissioner, the next president.  Keller will succeed Neal Smatresk, who announced in February that he would step down after 10 years at the helm of the system’s flagship university, which has 47,000 students. A vote in June from the Board of Regents kicked off a 21-day mandatory waiting period before the formal action on Monday that appointed Keller as president. He takes office Aug. 1. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently released the Spring 2024 STAAR results, revealing ongoing challenges for Beaumont ISD and continued success for several other districts within Jefferson, Orange, and Hardin counties. Despite debates over the flaws of standardized testing, it remains the sole consistent metric for evaluating district performance. The following analysis compares scores within the tri-county area of Region 5: view article

The San Antonio Independent School District hosted a lengthy panel discussion for trustees this week outlining this year’s standardized test results, where they need to improve, and how they plan on doing so. During the presentation on Monday night, SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino said there were some bright spots in the district’s STAAR results, especially at the high school level, where he said the district was catching up to the state average. view article

In your recent response to Representative Rosenthal, you rejected his plea for a special session to address school funding, asserting that the responsibility for budget shortfalls in Texas is not your fault. You couldn't be more wrong, Governor.  As chief executive of our great State, you are constitutionally bound to support an appropriate, free education system for Texas schoolchildren, even though you abdicated that responsibility during the last legislative session when you sacrificed the well-being of our public schools on the altar of your government vouchers plan, also known euphemistically as school choice, parent empowerment, and educational freedom.  Your speciously worded letter conveniently omits several critical factors impacting our education system. It attempts to shift blame for the State's failure to take action - YOUR failure to take action - to fund our schools. The people of Texas are no longer willing to listen to your false facts. view article

The Beaumont Independent School District is weighing in on this year's controversial STAAR test results, where the Texas Education Agency (TEA) used artificial intelligence to help grade. Along with using AI to grade the tests, they were completely redesigned to use more open-ended questions instead of multiple choice. view article

Results of the 2024 STAAR are now available and show Austin ISD, along with other Texas school districts, still struggling to get scores back on track post-pandemic. Why it matters: While test scores aren’t the only measure of academic knowledge, the tests show how our students are mastering course material so we can create plans to address gaps in knowledge. What they’re saying: “For us it’s a data point,” said Superintendent Matias Segura. “The STAAR is a tool that helps us understand where we are and how we compare to other school districts around the state.” By the numbers: 2024 scores for the district show an increase in reading proficiency from June 2019, but a decrease in math scores. Sixth grade test scores showed the greatest margin of increase in reading proficiency from 39% to 54%. Third grade math tests scores from Spring 2019 to Spring 2024 show a decrease of 10 percentage points, from 52% to 42%. Closing the gap: Austin ISD uses a balanced assessment system to have a fuller picture of our students’ progress. Teachers are continuously collecting data on students to monitor and adjust teaching and learning. And ultimately, students' learning needs have changed in a post-pandemic climate. Here’s how we’re changing our tactics to support students: view article

The Brownsville Independent School District announced that it placed 17 schools on the 2023 Texas Honor Roll compiled by the Educational Results Partnership, a nonprofit that applies data science to help improve student outcomes and career readiness throughout the educational system. view article

Austin ISD's board of trustees said in a statement Friday evening that conservators selected by the TEA would work with the district to provide special education services to students with disabilities. The board also said the district has a right to appeal the conservatorship, but did not state whether it would do so. "We are focused on our students, and we welcome collaboration with TEA to help us catch up on long-overdue evaluations. We are united in our focus to ensure that all students receive what they need, when they need it," the statement read. The board plans to hold a public meeting to address the conservatorship and allow for public comment on Monday evening. The TEA shared with The Texas Tribune the final report of its investigation into Austin ISD. In it, the agency said the district failed to evaluate students in need of special education sAustin ISD's board of trustees said in a statement Friday evening that conservators selected by the TEA would work with the district to provide special education services to students with disabilities. The board also said the district has a right to appeal the conservatorship, but did not state whether it would do so. "We are focused on our students, and we welcome collaboration with TEA to help us catch up on long-overdue evaluations. We are united in our focus to ensure that all students receive what they need, when they need it," the statement read. The board plans to hold a public meeting to address the conservatorship and allow for public comment on Monday evening. The TEA shared with The Texas Tribune the final report of its investigation into Austin ISD. In it, the agency said the district failed to evaluate students in need of special education services and to provide those services to eligible students. The district was placed on an improvement plan but did not make significant fixes, the report said.ervices and to provide those services to eligible students. The district was placed on an improvement plan but did not make significant fixes, the report said. view article

The number of elementary school students who received a zero on their state standardized essay test questions this spring increased by about 20% from last year. Among all third to eighth graders, just over 35% received no credit on essay questions this year compared with about 30% last year on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, according to data available through the Texas Education Agency. That’s a raw increase of nearly 140,000 students. Houston- and San Antonio-area school districts closely followed the statewide trends, although Houston-area students received slightly fewer zeroes than the statewide rates, while San Antonio students received slightly more. view article

Results from the STAAR tests are in, and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) reports that scores for math and science are down across all grade levels. That pattern is clear when looking at scores for Austin ISD. In the spring of 2019, 69% of the district's students who took the Algebra I STAAR test met their grade level. This year, that number dropped drastically, to just 39%. view article

June 18, 2024 – I’ve interview lots of folks but not many as equal to caring for kids as my honoree for this week’s article is. Mrs. LaTisha Guillory is changing our North Channel children’s lives to ensure they’ll have the education to set their goals as high as they want and reach them. Some say that a good education can change anyone and a good teacher like Guillory can change everything. The Galena Park ISD educator is proving just how much teachers have the power to ignite the passion and love for learning that students need to succeed. Mrs. LaTisha Guillory, an English teacher at North Shore Senior High 10th Grade Center, was named the 2023 Houston Area Alliance Black School Educator (HAABSE) Outstanding Secondary Teacher of the Year for the entire Houston area in February 2024, a recognition given to educators who exemplify excellence in their field. The purpose of the Outstanding Teacher Awards is to say “thank you” to teachers for the outstanding job they do in working with children. The HAABSE Retired Educator’s Committee reviewed applications, determined and interviewed finalists and then selected the recipients. view article

A Houston ISD parent filed a formal complaint this week against a high-level district administrator who seemed to taunt community members by repeatedly saying "scoreboard" during a recent school board meeting that became contentious. view article

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released the spring 2024 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) 3-8 results of Friday, June 14. The percentage of MISD students meeting grade-level standards in reading increased in grades 4-7, with a 6 percent increase in 4th grade, according to spring 2024 preliminary reports. MISD also saw gains in fifth and sixth-grade math, with a six percentage-point increase in 5th-grade math. view article

Over the past two weeks the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has released this year’s STAAR scores for individual students and for school districts. ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri said in a press conference they have closed the gap between their scores and the state averages in 3rd and 7th grade reading language arts and math, as well as 8th grade math and end of course biology and U.S. history. view article

Marshall third-graders have seen a bump in their reading levels through the school’s participation in the regular read to ride program, hosted by Mission Marshall. This year’s statistics showed students who successfully completed the annual program at David Crockett Elementary were up by 48%, Price T. Young Fine Arts Academy students were up by 84%, and William B. Travis Elementary students up by 92%, officials said. view article

The district said they have closed the gap between their scores and the state averages in 3rd and 7th grade reading, language arts, math, 8th grade math and others. view article

The Katy Independent School District and 27 campuses earned spots on the 2023 Texas Honor Roll, recognized for closing achievement gaps, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged student populations. The Honor Roll aims to find and highlight successful schools and school districts and encourage collaboration among educators on best practices for raising student achievement. view article

Waco Independent School District elementary schools stumbled in this year’s State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, with most showing a dip in test scores from last year’s results in reading and math, even as a few schools made marked improvements in certain grade levels. view article

State testing data released Friday shows students’ math and science scores slipped as they struggle to catch up after the pandemic. Texas elementary students who took the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam this spring saw striking drops in science comprehension. Only 26% of fifth graders this year met science grade-level standards, or concepts students in that grade are expected to understand, a steep decline of 21 percentage points from 2019. In math, Texas students lost ground after two years of modest post-pandemic gains. About 41% of students demonstrated an adequate understanding of math on their tests, with declines across grades compared to last year. view article

STAAR test scores out Friday show small gains in some districts, but overall the results show not much change in how students are performing. Is that really the case? Some superintendents say new grading practices for the test, handed out more zeros to students than ever before, and they want answers. Urban, suburban, big, small, it doesn't matter where you look...superintendents are all waving the same red flag. view article

What do educators do in the summertime? Sometimes they sign up for a bit of extra education themselves. Over 100 science and math teachers from across the Coastal Bend and dozens of current education students and future teachers attended the 19th annual Me by the SEa STEM educator conference Friday at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. view article

HISD, in its first year under state-appointed leadership, enjoyed year-over-year increases in its percentages of students meeting grade-level standards in math for grades 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8, according to STAAR standardized test results. Most of the other large urban school districts in Texas saw proficiency decreases in math in most of the grade levels tested. Much the same was the case in other large districts in the Houston area. view article

"If you're having problems in reading, you're probably going to have problems in math as well," Faith Nuñez said. After comparing the numbers for Waco's STAAR test results from this spring and last spring, and comparing them with statewide averages, the numbers show both negative and positive results. view article

Texas students in third through eighth grade passed at lower rates on 13 of 15 STAAR exams this year, while Houston ISD passing rates jumped closer to statewide performance. Students can fall into four categories on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR): did not meet grade level, approached grade level, met grade level, and mastered grade level. A student who approached grade level and above passes the exam. State-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has said he's focused on the percentage of students meeting grade level on these exams, a step above approaching grade level that indicates students are likely to succeed next year with academic intervention, according to the Texas Education Agency. HISD saw gains in the percentages of students meeting grade level while the state saw losses. view article

The Texas Education Agency’s new high-quality instructional materials will significantly improve educational outcomes and provide tremendous support for teachers, according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Sindelar. TEA recently published the revised materials as part of a new review process passed by the Texas Legislature last year. The revised materials align with the state’s standards, known as the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills or TEKS, follow evidence-based instructional strategies, and includes the well-rounded and complete knowledge base parents want for their kids. view article