Students at non-NES campuses were much more likely than students at NES or NES aligned campuses to meet grade level standards in reading or math in 2023.
In August, Texas Education Agency (TEA) released preliminary STAAR results for each campus and district across the state.
Good Reason Houston monitors data on student achievement to help inform the Houston community so that leaders make data-informed decisions in service of student learning. When looking at STAAR results, our team analyzes the percentage of students who meet or exceed grade-level expectations, which helps us understand how Houston’s school systems are progressing toward supporting all students in pursuing future academic and economic opportunities.
We recently compiled an early-stage analysis of preliminary STAAR data in the Houston region. This blog takes a deeper dive into preliminary STAAR data for NES schools – the 28 campuses designated under HISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ ‘New Education System’ – and NES-aligned schools, which include more than 50 additional campuses that opted into the NES program, receiving some portion of its support and resources. In this cut of early-stage district-level data analysis* we found the following:
Key NES Analysis Takeaways
- Overall, students at non-NES campuses were much more likely than students at NES or NES aligned campuses to meet grade level standards in reading or math in 2023.
- Despite scoring lower overall, NES and NES aligned campuses saw greater growth in 3rd grade reading and math from 2022 to 2023 than non-NES campuses.
- NES, NES aligned, and non-NES campuses all saw 8th grade reading scores dip noticeably from 2022 to 2023, while only NES campuses saw improvement in 8th grade math scores.
- Compared to 2019, only NES high schools remained above 2019 levels on English 1 EOC exams, but their scores declined somewhat from 2022 to 2023.
- Algebra 1 scores remained far below 2019 levels at NES, NES aligned, and non-NES high schools alike in 2023, with NES high schools showing the steepest decline.
- 3rd graders in the Kashmere and Wheatley feeder patterns outscored 3rd graders in other NES feeder patterns and NES aligned campuses in both reading and math.
2023 STAAR Preliminary
3rd Grade 2019-2023
8th Grade 2019-2023
High School End of Course Exams (EOCs) 2019-2023
2023 by NES Feeder Pattern
* 2023 data was downloaded for all campuses and districts in Houston from the TEA’s Analytic Portal, which was updated 8/16/2023. 2019-2022 data was downloaded for all campuses and districts in the state from the STAAR Aggregate Data portal which reports verified and finalized results. This analysis included only English-language test-takers for 3rd-5th graders.
