Not so good. Needs to be better.
Houston ISD high school students continue to struggle with reading and writing, passing state exams at significantly lower rates than the state average, new results show.
The district’s scores in algebra, biology and U.S. history also dipped a couple of points from last year, at a slightly sharper rate than did others across Texas.
HISD’s high school results are similar to the previously released elementary and middle school scores, which mostly declined or remained flat.
Superintendent Terry Grier, in a statement issued Friday, applauded a more promising measure: an increase in the percentage of students who answered more questions correctly this year than last on the high school exams – meeting the tougher bar that the state plans to enforce in coming years.
That uptick, Grier said, “shows that our teachers and administrators are committed to making sure students are on track to graduate.”
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On the English I [STAAR] test, which covers reading and writing, HISD’s passing rate was 58 percent this year, compared with the state’s 71 percent. HISD had a three-point drop from 2014, while students statewide declined by one point.
HISD’s passing rate on the algebra test, which some eighth-graders take, was 79 percent, down from 82 percent last year. The state rate dropped one point to 85 percent.
The passing rates include only students taking the exams for the first time in spring 2015 and spring 2014. Students who failed can retake the tests.
HISD scored between one and five points lower than Dallas ISD in algebra, biology and U.S. history this year. The districts’ passing rates were the same for English I, and HISD fared better by one point in English II.
Dallas ISD is the state’s second-largest district behind HISD. Both serve significant concentrations of low-income students and those still learning English, who traditionally lag academically.
Across Texas, scores have been relatively flat since the 2012 rollout of the STAAR, which was designed to be tougher than the old testing regime.
It’s a tough problem, and it won’t get any easier with the forthcoming toughening of standards in the STAAR test. I’m sure this subject will be discussed at length in Terry Grier’s final contract year. Really, though, we need to deal with this at the state level. We can toughen standards, we can change the grading system for schools and school districts, we can come up with all kinds of plans for how to deal with failing schools and school districts, but when are we going to give them the tools and resources they need to not fail in the first place?