Overview
- The Texas Education Agency released preliminary 3–8 STAAR scores that show year‑over‑year gains in math and social studies while reading performance stayed mostly flat across grades, with third‑grade reading dipping to 49%.
- TEA officials and Commissioner Mike Morath highlighted middle‑school reading gains and linked them to the statewide ban on student cell phone use, and they said the decline in seventh‑grade math reflects more seventh graders taking the eighth‑grade exam under recent advanced‑placement rules.
- District and campus results vary widely with notable subgroup gaps, for example Austin ISD students overall outperformed the state but Spanish‑language test takers in AISD scored well below statewide Spanish‑speakers.
- Science scores for fifth and eighth grade were delayed for a July 31 standard‑setting release and final A–F accountability ratings that can trigger state takeovers are scheduled for August, keeping some districts and schools at risk of intervention.
- The state plans to replace the single end‑of‑year STAAR with through‑year adaptive assessments starting in 2027–28, a shift intended to give more frequent feedback even as leaders use 2026 results to guide tutoring, staffing and turnaround decisions.