The Texas Education Agency released statewide and district-specific STAAR scores June 17, which state officials said show an improvement in reading scores across nearly every grade level in the state; varying math scores by grade level; and "marked improvement" in science scores.
Some context
The TEA uses the assessments "did not meet grade level," "approaches grade level," "meets grade level" and "masters grade level" to score STAAR test performance in each subject.
"Approaches grade level" is considered a passing score, with the agency noting students with this score are likely to succeed in the next grade or course, but could need targeted academic intervention.
Breaking it down
The 2025 "approaches grade level" STAAR scores show that PfISD students performed:
- Above the state average in six subjects
- Below the state average in nine subjects, with six only 1-2 percentage points below the average
- Equal to the state average in five subjects
While PfISD's 7th grade math performance increased by two percentage points year-over-year, the score lagged behind the state average with a gap of 14 percentage points.
Of PfISD's seven middle school campuses, Westview Middle School had the lowest "approaches grade level" performance in this subject, scoring 20% against the state's 52% average. Kelly Lane Middle School had the highest performance score with 68%.
Diving in deeper
Districts and individual campuses are given an A-F rating by the state based on various measures of student achievement, including the STAAR test.
In April, the TEA released the 2023 A-F ratings following a year-and-a-half long lawsuit that blocked them from being released.
PISD received a "C" rating, scoring 75 out of 100 possible points.
Of the 32 campuses that received ratings, five received an A rating; 10 received a B rating; nine received a C rating; six received a D rating; and two received an F rating.
Following the release of the ratings, Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said district officials have been monitoring district-level assessments and internal data and said there are "positive gains" in student learning and achievement.
What they're saying
“These results are encouraging and reflect the impact of the strategic supports we’ve implemented in recent years,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in a June 17 news release. “With [reading] scores now surpassing pre-pandemic levels, we are seeing meaningful signs of academic recovery and progress. While this year also saw some improvements in math, clearly more work is needed.”
Something to note
Families can access their child's STAAR scores here using their unique access code from the district.
