{"id":4698,"date":"2026-06-16T20:01:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4698"},"modified":"2026-06-16T20:01:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:01:30","slug":"texas-students-make-gains-in-math-and-social-studies-but-reading-growth-stalls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=4698","title":{"rendered":"Texas students make gains in math and social studies, but reading growth stalls"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AUSTIN, Texas<\/strong> – <\/span>Texas elementary and middle school students showed improvement in social studies and math, but little to no growth in reading, according to STAAR test results released Tuesday.<\/p>

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The Texas Education Agency released results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests for grades 3\u20138 on Tuesday. The tests measure if students learn core subjects at levels appropriate for their grade.<\/p>

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said the results were encouraging, but more work remains.<\/p>

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What they’re saying:<\/p>

“The 2026 results demonstrate both the progress Texas students are making and the work that remains ahead of us. We are encouraged by continued gains in mathematics, especially with the growing number of students participating and succeeding in advanced mathematics courses. The gains in middle school reading are also notable, as it may be associated with the statewide ban on the use of cell phones in schools,” Morath said.<\/p>

Reading levels surpass pre-COVID levels, show little improvement over last year<\/h2>

While the percentage of students meeting their grade level in reading was above pre-pandemic numbers, third-grade students saw a 1% decrease in students meeting grade-level expectations over last year, falling to 49%. The percentage of students meeting grade level in fourth through sixth grades remained flat compared to last year at 52%, 57% and 54%, respectively.<\/p>

The percentage of students meeting expectations in seventh grade increased by 2% over last year to 54%, while eighth grade students saw the biggest increase at 3%, from 56% to 59% year over year.<\/p>

Math scores so most improve, nearly every grade remains under pre-COVID levels<\/h2>

Math scores showed the most improvement from 2025 to 2026, however, almost every grade continues to remain below pre-pandemic levels. The exception is fourth grade, which improved to 49% of students meeting expectations. That’s a 4% increase from 2025 and a 3% increase over 2019 levels.<\/p>

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Math scores remained flat at 44% for third grade. Fifth and eighth grades saw 2% increases, up to 47% each. Sixth grade saw a 1% increase to 39%.<\/p>

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