I have said repeatedly that as far as large urban school districts go, HISD is one of the better ones in the U.S. Here’s the proof:
Houston’s fourth- and eighth-graders beat their counterparts in most other urban school districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, results released Thursday show.
The exam, also called the Nation’s Report Card, tested students’ math and reading skills last school year and compared Houston Independent School District results with other cities that volunteered to participate.
They were New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cleveland, San Diego, Charlotte, Atlanta, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Austin. Only Charlotte and Austin performed better than Houston overall.
“We’re making progress but still have a lot of work to do to compete with every school district in the county,” HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra said in a written statement.
State results released last month showed Texas’ students beating the national average in every category except eighth-grade reading.
While Houston stacked up well against urban school districts, HISD still trails the overall national average, and the gaps between scores achieved by white students and minorities remain large.
In fourth-grade math, for example, only Atlanta and Washington had a larger gap between white and black students.
Yet compared with Hispanic and black students in other school districts, those in Houston performed well.
Those same black fourth-graders in HISD beat their counterparts at all 10 urban districts in reading and also topped the national average.
The fact is that large urban school districts face hurdles suburban districts often don’t: majority minority student populations and all the associated challenges they bring with them. It is encouraging that HISD, under Dr. Saavedra’s forward-thinking leadership, is getting creative to improve the education it provides its students. Dr. Saavedra has repeatedly admitted that HISD needs to improve, and it is no secret that student success tends to slide in the upper grades (in many school districts nationwide); but with a continued focus on changing that, HISD students will continue to make gains, and HISD should continue to improve in the Nation’s Report Card.
Thanks to Jason Spencer for an informative story.
