As summer kicks in and classrooms sit silent, the numbers are talking—and they speak of a continued struggle. The latest batch of STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test results show that students in Austin ISD, along with their peers across Texas, are battling post-pandemic blues when it comes to mathematics proficiency. While reading levels show a bounce back, math remains a stubborn hurdle, according to the Texas Education Agency's recent release.
Math scores are still lagging, with only 39% of Austin ISD high school students meeting grade level in the Algebra I STAAR end-of-course exam—a significant dip from pre-pandemic figures. This worrisome trend mirrors the situation in lower grades as well. Data show that a lesser count of third to eighth-graders met grade-level standards in 2024 when compared to their 2019 counterparts. "We certainly recognize that the pandemic created this gap that we’re trying to close desperately," Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura told KUT.
Segura, however, cautions that STAAR results aren't the be-all and end-all measure of a student's potential. They're a helpful data point, but they fail to capture a child's full capabilities. "When you distill down a student’s potential into one score, I think it’s not telling the whole picture,” Segura explained. Indeed, the vibrancy of a school and its community arguably play as crucial a role in shaping young learners as any standardized exam.
Yet, addressing the math proficiency conundrum urgently demands resources—something that schools like Austin ISD find in short supply amidst a $60 million budget shortfall. Quality education, as emphasized by education leaders and experts alike, comes at a cost. Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators, reinforces this, highlighting the struggle with budget deficits and staffing challenges in many districts. “We’re about 43rd, 44th [out of 50] in the country in what we’re spending per student and that needs to change,” said Brown, pointing out the dire need for increased funding.
Interestingly, success in reading instruction suggests that when legislative efforts and evidence-backed strategies align, improvements are quite attainable. As Mary Lynn Pruneda, a senior policy adviser for public education issues at Texas 2036 mentioned, learning to read has not only stabilized since the pandemic but has even shown tangible progress. "So the question for us is how do we do that again? How do we do that across science, across math and across social studies?" inquired Pruneda during an interview with KUT.
Addressing these educational deficits isn’t just about rebounding to a pre-pandemic normal but setting our sights higher to leave no child lagging. As Gabe Grantham, a policy adviser at Texas 2036, pointed out, we need to envision greater successes for our students. With the state's overall math proficiency seeing its first true decline since the pandemic, it's a call for all stakeholders to recognize the urgency and act swiftly.
