It looks like Houston ISD superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to crack down on New Education System (NES) campuses may be working – at least for white and Asian students, while Black and Brown students are being left behind. Miles, along with the board of managers, recently discussed the improvements in STAAR scores among NES schools while highlighting the decline in test scores, particularly among Black and Brown students at non-NES campuses. Overall, NES schools showed improvement in all student groups, from 28% of all students meeting the third-grade math grade level in 2022-23 to 35% in 2023-24.
“The District saw overall significant improvement on the STAAR assessment overall. This improvement was achieved at the same time the state and almost all other large districts declined overall. These results during the first year of enormous transformation suggest that the instructional approach is sound and that we should stay the course.
Also important to note is that the NES schools improved by three percentage points on the third-grade STAAR reading assessment. That means the third graders in the NES schools outperformed their peers across the state by four percentage points on average – a huge increase,” read the superintendent’s evaluation report for the school district’s performance.
During a recent board meeting, district officials talked about ways to continue improving those test scores.
Other issues
HISD parents, teachers, students, and community members also brought up several issues that the students faced during the first week of school. These included unassigned bus routes and air conditioning in their classrooms and buses. Parents also took to social media to discuss the decrease in the number of bus routes.
One parent said their child has to sit in a bus for around two hours in the morning with additional issues such as waiting on an empty street and a three-hour ride back home in the afternoon. Her child’s bus also did not have adequate AC, and the windows were sealed shut.
HISD said the district reduced the number of bus routes from 508 to about 423 this school year to save $3 million despite a budget deficit of $528 million.
“Hundreds of HISD students had to scramble to figure out what buses to take to get to school. Their parents had to call HISD transportation and got no answer. They were told they could get on any bus to get home,” said another student. “My question is, why would you cut the bus routes and then act like it would not have an impact on us? If Mike Miles is the one calling the shots, what damage could he do with $4.4 billion? I don’t think the voters in Houston should take the risk and find out. No trust, no books, no buses, no bond.”
Teisha Mayes, who volunteered for a dance class at Crockett Elementary last year, observed numerous times that the AC was broken and “unbearable.” This week, the children had to take the class in the hallway.
“Not only is the dance room affected, but also choir room and the art room. This is absolutely unacceptable,” she said. “Students this year are now required to carry large traffic cones to the restroom, which are bigger than some of the kids. What’s the sense behind this? Our priorities should be creating a cool, consistent environment where children and teachers can thrive. Please do better.”
Several speakers at the meeting also criticized Miles’ overhaul of the school district and expressed distrust in the $4.4 billion bond proposal to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot, which the board members unanimously approved. The shutdown of libraries and the firing of librarians from HISD schools continue to be a point of tension and debate among speakers.
Miles admitted that the district has to keep the classroom temperatures between 70 to 75 degrees to keep students comfortable, recounting how students had to be moved from one school to another due to cooling problems and that the HISD transportation system has to be improved.
“It’s a big district, 274 schools, and our systems are old and failing. It’s going to be a battle every day, and then there’ll be a battle again in April and May, but the maintenance workers have been doing a phenomenal job of keeping the buildings cool,” he said.
Without discussion, the board of managers also approved updates on the student Code of Conduct, contract renewals and expenditures for the bond package worth millions of dollars, and the availability of opioid antagonists on every HISD campus, among other items.
Test score data
While NES elementary schools showed improvements — one of the primary reasons why they were instructed to follow a centralized curriculum and test-based evaluations, non-NES elementary schools did not show the same results.
Forty-one percent of third-graders met/exceeded grade level in reading. However, HISD’s percentage dropped from 41% to 40%, while the state’s dropped 2 percentage points. Overall, NES schools showed improvement in all student groups, from 31% of all students meeting the third-grade grade level in reading in 2022-23 to 34% in 2023-24.
“The growth STAAR [scores] overall was the largest increase compared to the state in reading and math and NES schools probably in the Texas history of the exams. Undeniable growth,” Miles said.
The percentage of students who met grade-level standards declined for African-American, Hispanic, disabled, bilingual, and economically disadvantaged students in non-NES schools but increased in NES schools.
Math STAAR scores
Meanwhile, math test scores in non-NES schools declined, from 42% of all students meeting math grade level in 2022-23 to 41% in the 2023-24 school year. Moreover, 39% met/exceeded the grade level. Overall, third-grade students in NES schools showed improvement in math test scores in all student groups, but those in non-NES schools who showed improvement declined or remained the same.
Changing goals
To improve test scores in the 2024-25 school year, HISD aims to expand the NES model to 130 schools and ensure that elementary and middle schools use the NES-approved “science of reading” curriculum, among other measures.
Reading scores in the STAAR exam:
41% – June 2023 to 56% – June 2028
Reading scores in the NWEA MAP exam:
18% – September 2023 to 42% – May 2028 in NES schools
28% – September 2023 to 43% – May 2028 in non-NES schools
Math scores in the STAAR exam:
38% – June 2023 to 53% – June 2028
Math scores in the NWEA MAP exam:
12% – September 2023 to 41% – May 2028 in NES or NESA campuses
