Results show improvements across the board, with significant gains in reading

AUSTIN, Texas – July 1, 2022 - Today, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released spring 2022 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) results for Grades 3-8. The results include exams in mathematics and reading for grades 3–8, 5th and 8th grade science, and 8th grade social studies. This year’s STAAR results show across-the-board improvements in all grades and subjects from 2021, with significant gains in reading. 

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said of the results, “The investments that the state is making in reading academies and accelerated instruction are clearly paying dividends for our students, and the results are a testament to the hard work of teachers across our state. While we still have much work to do to recover from COVID-related learning loss in mathematics, the improvements our students have made in reading are clear."

The full STAAR results for grades 3-8 can be found here: http://tea.texas.gov/staar/rpt/sum   

Several pieces of legislation passed in recent years have focused on improving academic support programs for Texas students in both reading and math:  

• House Bill 3, passed in 2019, established a requirement for all K-3 educators to participate in reading academies, built around evidence-based reading practices.  
• House Bill 1525, passed in 2021, launched Texas COVID-19 Learning Acceleration Supports (TCLAS), which provided districts with $1.4B in learning acceleration services and grants for strategic planning, instructional materials, teacher pipelines, more instructional time, and innovative school models.  
• House Bill 4545, also passed in 2021, provides targeted tutoring for the students who need it most—thirty hours of additional instruction for each test a student did not meet grade level on.  

State policy changed one aspect of STAAR testing this year. Per HB 4545, which passed during the 87th Legislative Session, the 5th and 8th grade promotion requirement associated with STAAR was eliminated so there are no longer any high-stakes for elementary and middle school students taking the STAAR. School systems, however, may have local policies related to how students are promoted to the next grade or retained. 

Next year, more changes will be coming to the STAAR. TEA will be implementing changes from House Bill 3906 (86R), which requires the STAAR test to be redesigned to better align with classroom instruction. The STAAR will also transition to a full online administration. Writing will also be assessed as part of the reading/language arts assessment in grades 3-8 for the first time. These changes aim to improve student engagement and reduce teaching to the test. These changes will fully take effect in spring 2023.   

Both federal and state laws require school systems to offer end-of-year assessments like the STAAR. State law requires that students take the assessment. Additionally, STAAR fulfills the federal requirements as established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Laws have been adopted at both the state and federal level as evidence shows that using common assessments aligned to rigorous state standards helps improve the quality of education students receive. Similarly, data shows that without a common statewide system to determine student mastery, certain groups of students disproportionately received educational opportunities that were consistently at a lower rigor level than their peers.   

In June 2022, the Agency released this year’s STAAR EOC assessment results, which showed progress in the three tests that saw a decline during COVID-19. In these three tests, Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History, Texas student performance in the “meets grade level” category improved. 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. In the two tests that did not show a negative impact from COVID-19, English I and English II, results stayed largely consistent from last school year. 

To Learn More 
TEA conducted additional analysis on this year’s data as part of an enhanced due diligence process.  More information on that process, and more information about all state-level results can be found at: http://tea.texas.gov/staar/rpt/sum. 

Parents are encouraged to log in and learn more about their child’s results by going to TexasAssessment.gov. Parents can view a variety of resources and assessment components, including each STAAR question and answer—along with their child’s answers. The website also provides resources designed to help parents adequately prepare their sons and daughters as they progress from grade level to grade level. Resources include tools to support a student’s ability to read and write, as well as tips and questions to help prepare for parent-teacher conferences in the 2022-23 school year. 

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