Area losses in both subjects mirror Texas as a whole; TEA says a ‘sustained effort’ is needed to improve testing outcomes.
From the third through eighth grades, standardized test results in math and science fell consistently in San Antonio . And that 7th grade math test must have been a doozy. Two of the largest school districts in Bexar County saw the percentage of their 7th graders who passed the math section of this year’s State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR , exam fall well below 50%.
The two districts, Northside and San Antonio independent school districts, also had slight to significant decreases in math at most grade levels, along with a declining performance in science in fifth and eighth grades — the only grades tested in that topic. Performance in math and science also faltered statewide. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath suggested elementary and middle school students haven’t recovered as well academically in math from the COVID-19 pandemic as they have in other subjects. RELATED: Rise in school violence attributed to pandemic “Results from the 2024 STAAR 3-8 assessments reveal the significant gaps in mathematics achievement across our schools. While we continue to see progress in other areas — which is a testament to the dedication and skill of our Texas educators — it’s clear that math performance is not where students need it to be for success after graduation,” Morath said. “Pandemic-induced disruptions to learning exacerbated students’ difficulties in mastering fundamental math concepts,” he said. “As a result, we must keep our foot on the gas to intensify efforts in providing targeted interventions and research-based education strategies to ensure that students obtain necessary foundational skills and concepts and achieve the desired academic outcomes not only in math but across all subject areas.” The 2024 results show declining math and science performance across all grade levels, the TEA said. “The decrease in math proficiency is indicative of the significant challenges that persist for students in this subject area following the COVID-19 pandemic. Student performance in math has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, making it clear that recovery will require a sustained effort to improve student outcomes,” the agency said. The results statewide in reading-language arts proficiency varied across grades. “While some grades demonstrated improvement, others saw slight declines. Grades 3, 5 and 8 experienced a decrease, each dropping by 2%,” the TEA said. “The percentage of students meeting grade level in Grades 4 and 6 rose by three and four percentage points, respectively. The percentage of students who scored on grade level in social studies held steady, mirroring results from 2023.” In San Antonio, the percentage of seventh graders passing in math, with a score that at least “approaches grade level,” fell from 52% in spring 2023 to 39% in the Northside ISD. It was the only STAAR subject with a passing rate below 50 percent in the district, the area’s largest with about 102,000 students. SAISD saw a similar decline in passing scores in seventh grade math, from 42% in 2023 to 26% this year. SAISD eighth graders, holding at 43%, were the only ones in both of the two districts who didn’t see a decline in math results, and they in fact improved in the “meets grade level” category. The only true bright spots were improvement in passing rates in fourth grade reading, going from 77% to 82% in Northside and from 62% to 67% in SAISD. Generally though, scores locally and statewide dropped in most subjects. Medina Valley ISD had significant decreases in most subjects for grades 3, 5 and 8, with passing rates declining 5 percentage points or more. North East ISD saw a slight decrease in its passing rate for eighth grade social studies, despite an increase of a single percentage point in the “meets” category. Judson ISD dropped 3 percentage points in its passing rate for fifth grade math. Compared with statewide averages, NEISD had higher percentages of passing students in all subjects for grades 3, 5 and 8. Northside had higher passing rates in more than half the subjects than Texas as a whole. Judson and San Antonio ISDs were below the state average in all subjects. RELATED: School districts struggling with money crunch The end-of-course STAAR results for high school students released last week were much more favorable. “This year’s EOC results show that performance has largely held steady,” the TEA said. “The percentage of students meeting grade level remained consistent in Algebra I, Biology and English I. In English II, there was a 4% increase in the percentage of students meeting grade level, reaching 60%. In U.S. History, there was a 2% decrease in the percentage of students meeting grade level, from 71% to 69%.” Staff data reporter Leila Darwiche contributed to this report.
TEA San Antonio ISD COVID Medina Valley ISD SAISD 8Th EOC Northside Judson ISD North East ISD Mike Morath Leila Darwiche Judson Northside Independent School District Texas San Antonio Bexar County II North East English COVID Algebra I U.S. History
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