Preliminary STAAR data shows decline in SISD scores
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has not released the final scores for the 2026 STAAR test, but early results show a decline in Sharyland ISD student performance.
Administration reported preliminary state test results to the school board at the June meeting, stating that there was an overall decline in English, math and social studies across.
“We still have to wait for our summer scores to come in but this will give you a good idea of where we’re standing today with regard to our performance in the district,” Superintendent Dr. Elaine Howard said.
STAAR data shows a steady districtwide decline in reading and language arts (RLA) since 2023. Math and social studies improved between 2024 and 2025 but dipped in 2026. As for science scores, TEA has not released them, but they should be available July 31.
After breaking down the preliminary data by grade and subject level, seventh grade math and RLA improved from 2025, as well as high school algebra, biology and English. The largest drop in performance was in eighth grade math, which fell 10 points.
The board provided little comment when administration presented the data but Trustee Julio Cerda expressed eagerness at getting to the root of the problem.
“We’re competing amongst ourselves. And I understand there’s differences but we gotta know where we’re at, what we’re doing, what our teachers are doing out there…,” Cerda said.
However, Sharyland students were not the only ones who regressed between 2025 and 2026. TEA reported an overall decline in student achievement at the state and regional levels for STAAR testing.
Despite a lower performance over the last year, Sharyland students are still averaging higher scores than students in the state and region across most grades and subjects.
In RLA and English, SISD students averaged performances 1% to 11% higher than the state and 1% to 13% higher than the region.
For math and Algebra testing, SISD performed at an equal or higher rate than students in the state and region with the exception of fifth grade. Fifth grade trailed the state and regional average by 1% and 2%, respectively.
Sharyland students averaged higher performance levels than the state and regional averages on the U.S. history test, but eighth grade social studies students performed below the state and regional averages.
And in biology, SISD’s scores were equal to or higher than the state and regional averages, respectively.
When it comes to Sharyland’s three high schools, all three campuses have shown inconsistent performance across tested subjects over the last two years, but the administration remains optimistic, as the data does show gradual improvement.
The superintendent also reminded the board that the reports are not an apples-to-apples comparison.
“I do want to stress that these are not the same kids from year to year. It’s just going to be seventh graders in general, eighth graders in general, high schoolers in general,” Howard said. “So just know that this is not cohort data but it at least shows that our students obviously did make some improvements, especially in biology … We still are struggling in some of the areas, but I think that it is important to show that we are still seeing a little bit of growth.”
Administration will present the final STAAR results at a later board meeting once TEA makes all the data available. Parents also have access to individual STAAR scores through the district’s family portal or TexasAssessment.gov.
