Texas schools posted higher STAAR scores in every tested subject this year. We compared spring 2025 and spring 2026 results for more than 8,000 Texas public schools in grades 3 through 8, and the picture is consistent from the statewide average down to individual schools.
Reading, Math, and Social Studies each rose one to two points while Science rose seven points. The statewide average across all subjects climbed from 45.8% to 48.1% of students meeting grade level, the largest one-year gain since 2024, when scores jumped after a test redesign. Last year's gain was less than half a point.
Statewide, subject by subject
Figures are the share of students at Meets Grade Level or above, weighted by school enrollment, for schools with results in both years. High schools are excluded because they take end-of-course exams rather than the grades 3 through 8 tests.
| Subject | 2025 | 2026 | Change | Schools up / down |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading (RLA) | 54.6% | 56.0% | +1.4 | 4,432 / 2,971 |
| Math | 44.3% | 46.6% | +2.3 | 4,593 / 2,880 |
| Social studies (grade 8) | 52.2% | 54.1% | +1.9 | 2,090 / 1,355 |
| Science (grades 5 and 8) | 44.4% | 51.4% | +7.0 | 5,648 / 1,517 |
The Texas Education Agency's own statewide numbers matches our findings. TEA reported grade 8 reading up 3 points and grade 7 up 2, grade 4 math up 4, and grade 8 social studies rising from 30% to 32%. On science, TEA reported grade 5 climbing from 29% to 36% and grade 8 from 46% to 54%. Our school-level data shows the same two moves: grade 5 from 28.6% to 35.8% and grade 8 from 46.0% to 52.4%.
In reading, 476 schools crossed from below half of students at grade level to above it. 310 crossed the other way.
Scrutiny
A seven-point statewide jump in one subject can raise the possibility that something about the test changed, rather than the students themselves, so it deserves scrutiny. It appears TEA held back science results until July 31 for that reason. The grade 5 and 8 science tests carried updated content to match Texas's revised science standards, and the agency ran a standard-setting process intended to keep the new material from making the test easier or harder. TEA reports the gains as real.
The pattern in our data supports that reading more than it undercuts it. The gain was not concentrated in a few large districts or one type of school. The median school moved up 7 points, 4,450 schools rose at least 5, and only 838 fell at least 5. Grade 5 and grade 8 moved together. Still, any year with new content and freshly set cut scores is harder to compare than an ordinary year, and one number keeps the result in proportion: grade 5 science, at 36%, remains well below the 49% Texas recorded in 2019.
The schools that moved most
School-level percentages can swing a lot if there's only a small numbers of students, so this list is limited to schools with at least 300 students and results in at least two individual grades in both years. Every school links to its allk12 profile.
| School (reading gainers) | District | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberto and Celia Barrera Elementary | Rio Grande City Grulla ISD | 32% | 76% | +44 |
| Dovalina Elementary | Laredo ISD | 48% | 80% | +32 |
| John and Olive Hinojosa Elementary | Rio Grande City Grulla ISD | 32% | 61% | +29 |
| Farias Elementary | Laredo ISD | 67% | 91% | +24 |
| Glenn Harmon Elementary | Mansfield ISD | 27% | 50% | +23 |
| Charles Q. Murphree PK-8 | El Paso ISD | 27% | 50% | +23 |
Two things stand out in that list. The top of it is the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo, where two districts each placed two elementary schools among the biggest gainers in the state. And the second name is one TEA singled out this month for a different reason: Dovalina Elementary, where every student is economically disadvantaged, earned a perfect accountability score and was the state's lead example of a high-poverty A school. The STAAR detail underneath that rating is striking. Dovalina went from 48% to 80% in reading, 31% to 73% in math, and 79% to 95% in science in a single year.
Math gainers overlap heavily with the reading list. Dovalina led the state at +42, with Glenn Harmon and Barrera at +34, and three middle schools posting gains near 30: Williams Middle in Houston, Guillen Middle in El Paso, and ILTexas Grand Prairie.
The steepest declines among schools that size were around 15 to 19 points, at elementary schools in Forney, Pittsburg, Malakoff, Laredo, and Conroe.
Districts and the big metros
Among districts with at least 3,000 students enrolled at their tested schools and three or more such schools, the largest combined reading and math gains came from a mix of small and large systems.
| District | Enrollment at tested schools | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texarkana ISD | 3,632 | 35.6% | 44.0% | +8.4 |
| International Leadership of Texas | 20,855 | 36.9% | 44.4% | +7.5 |
| Splendora ISD | 4,037 | 34.5% | 41.8% | +7.3 |
| Cleveland ISD | 8,631 | 22.9% | 28.8% | +5.9 |
| Rio Grande City Grulla ISD | 6,500 | 47.8% | 53.6% | +5.8 |
| Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD | 19,764 | 49.1% | 54.8% | +5.7 |
| Fort Worth ISD | 45,309 | 37.1% | 42.0% | +4.9 |
| Humble ISD | 32,291 | 49.2% | 53.9% | +4.7 |
Fort Worth is the one to notice. A five-point gain across 99 schools and 45,000 tested students is a different achievement from a five-point gain at a district with six schools, and Fort Worth also posted the largest science jump of any big urban district, from 19.2% to 27.2%. Cleveland ISD, north of Houston, is on the list too, which matters because it is also among the districts with a school one failing rating away from state intervention.
The declines cluster in a recognizable place: the fast-growing suburbs north of Dallas. Anna ISD fell 4.9 points, and White Settlement, Celina, Azle, McKinney, and Allen each slipped two to four. These remain high-scoring districts, and growth-driven enrollment churn is a plausible factor, but it is a real pattern here.
Across the largest urban districts, reading and math gains were modest and science gains were large. Houston ISD moved from 53.5% to 55.5% in reading and 33.8% to 43.3% in science. Dallas ISD went 51.7% to 53.1% in reading and 27.6% to 35.1% in science. San Antonio ISD, one of the lowest-scoring big districts in the state, rose 5.5 points in math, from 28.3% to 33.8%. The wealthy suburban districts barely moved: Frisco, Katy, Plano, and Cypress-Fairbanks were flat to down a point in reading.
The findings
These are one-year changes in the share of students clearing one cut score on one test. They are a real signal, and this year's is unusually consistent in direction, but they are not a ranking of schools and they correlate heavily with household income. A school that jumped 20 points is worth a second look; so is a school that fell 15. Neither number, alone, tells you whether the school is good. Our guide to reading your child's state test scores covers what the Meets Grade Level cut actually means, and school districts that beat the odds looks at what changes once you account for who a school serves.
These scores are also the raw material for the state's A-F accountability grades, which came out this month and showed more schools earning A's and fewer earning F's. For how STAAR results turn into a letter grade, see how the Texas accountability system works.
Data note: allk12 analysis of spring 2025 and spring 2026 STAAR results for grades 3 through 8, covering 8,126 Texas schools with 2026 results and 8,198 with 2025 results. Statewide figures are enrollment-weighted across schools with results in both years. School-level lists require at least 300 students and results in at least two individual grades in both years; district lists require at least 3,000 tested students and three schools. High schools are excluded. Enrollment is from federal NCES data for 2024-25.
Sources
Texas Education Agency: TEA Releases Spring 2026 STAAR Results for Grades 3-8
Texas 2036: 2026 STAAR Grades 3-8 results, subject-by-subject breakdown
School and district figures from allk12's analysis of TEA STAAR results and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) enrollment data.
