High school STAAR results show some improvement over 2021, but still below pre-pandemic levels

Megan Menchaca, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read

The Texas Education Agency released Thursday the spring State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results for high school-level courses in five different subjects, which showed improvement among students meeting grade level statewide, Results remain below pre-pandemic levels, however.

In algebra I, biology and U.S history, the percentage of Texas students in the “meets grade level” category improved after declining last year. The percentage of students who met the standard on the English I and English II exams in the same category stayed largely the same compared with last year.

“As the percentage of high school students meeting grade level is moving closer to pre-pandemic levels, these improvements are a welcome sign that Texas students are moving in the right direction in their post-pandemic academic recovery,” according to a TEA news release.

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Results of spring high school-level State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness show improvement in some subject areas since last year.
Results of spring high school-level State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness show improvement in some subject areas since last year.

The TEA canceled STAAR requirements in 2020 due to the pandemic, and exams resumed in spring 2021, when the percentage of students meeting grade level on some high school-level exams declined.

In the algebra I exam, for example, the percentage of students meeting grade level statewide dropped from 62% in 2019 to 41% in 2021, but then rose to 46% this year. The percentage of students meeting grade level on the English I exam remained largely consistent, at 48% in 2022, compared with 49% in 2019 and 50% in 2021.

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STAAR results for third through eighth grades will be released June 24, according to the TEA. District- and campus-level STAAR results also will be released later.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said the spring STAAR results are an encouraging sign that the bills that the Texas Legislature passed and teachers implemented to address academics, such as House Bill 4545, are working for students

HB 4545, which was passed last year, provides Texas students who don’t meet the passing standard on a high school-level STAAR exam the option to receive targeted tutoring in the subject or to be assigned a classroom with a “certified master, exemplary, or recognized” teacher.

“We have made some progress to date, but there is still work to be done to fully recover from the academic effects of the COVID slide,” Morath said in the press release. “We’re confident we’ll get there because Texas educators are all-in on helping their students to make the necessary academic gains."

To graduate high school, students must pass the STAAR, score high enough on a test like the PSAT or SAT or meet the requirements of an individual graduation committee. However, in grades three to eight, students who fail a STAAR exam are not required to repeat a grade.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: STAAR results 2022: Some improvement for Texas students