HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Independent School District (HISD) released data showing its progress in closing academic achievement gaps for the 2023-2024 school year.
On Tuesday, HISD’s state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles highlighted the latest results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exams (STAAR). the new the The the
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The standardized state test assesses students’ academic performance in various subjects.
HISD remains behind the state average in overall proficiency, but according to the data released by the district, students have demonstrated notable academic growth compared to their peers across Texas.
“Our students did great,” said Miles.
Miles shared that the district’s progress has exceeded his expectations, moving HISD closer to the vision laid out in his Destination 2035 Action Plan.
The plan focuses on significantly improving the district’s academic performance by 2035.
Citing data from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Miles pointed out that HISD’s academic performance was below the state average and highlighted the growing achievement gaps for Black and Latino students.
His goal is to close these gaps and prepare students for the future workforce.
“We grew, we outpaced not only the state, but most of the other urban districts, with regard to total performance,” Miles stated.
The test results indicate that while there is still a significant gap between certain demographics in HISD, it has started to narrow.
“Our economically disadvantaged students grew and narrowed the gap. You know, there’s a huge gap in this district, so we can’t close it overnight. But if we can grow a few percentage points, that’ll be great,” Miles said.
Middle school students have shown the most improvement, according to the superintendent. Despite the positive results, Miles advised caution.
“One year doesn’t make a trend. But we have stopped the decline and we have turned the corner and we’re moving up,” Miles said.
Miles believes the STAAR results mark a hopeful step for HISD as the district strives to achieve its long-term academic goals.