After two full school years of in-person learning following the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, students continue to struggle in advanced math compared with pre-pandemic academic performance scores, according to newly released Texas Education Agency data.

While the Austin school district’s test results followed the statewide trend of remaining generally stagnant when compared with last year’s, Austin students lagged behind the statewide performance average in algebra and English.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores, released Friday for high school students, showed that only 45% of those who took the Algebra I test statewide met grade level standards. That’s the same as the 2023 scores and significantly below those from 2019, when 62% of students met standards.

Students in third grade through high school take the STAAR tests annually. Students don’t necessarily need to meet grade level standards to pass a STAAR test.

The TEA on Friday released data for end-of-course exams given to students taking five key high school-level classes: algebra I, English I and II, U.S. history and biology. The TEA plans to release test scores for third through eighth grade students this Friday.

Students who met grade level for the English I test remained at 54% this year, while the students who met English II standards increased to 60% from 56% last year — both higher than pre-pandemic scores, according to TEA data.

Only about 39% of Austin district students met grade-level standards for algebra I, down from 40% last year, according to the data. Austin students have struggled with algebra since the pandemic. From 2019 to 2021, students meeting grade level standards dropped from 69% to 35%.

The Austin district’s reading scores have remained much more stable over the past six years. About 52% of students met grade level standards for English I and 58% met standards for English II. In both the English I and II tests, Austin was about 2 perentage points lower than the statewide average.

Texas’ emergent bilingual students have made gains over their pre-COVID levels in every subject except algebra, but they still lag behind their peers.

This is only the second year since the STAAR test had a comprehensive overhaul, which TEA officials hoped would better align the assessment with what’s being taught in the classroom. The redesign introduced more open-ended responses and an all-online testing platform.

The TEA released student scores last year, but a lawsuit by several school districts halted the agency’s usually annual release of A-F letter grades for districts’ and campuses’ academic performance. Those letter grades, which typically come out in late summer, are largely based on STAAR results. Districts that brought the lawsuit argued that the STAAR changes didn’t come with enough warning.

‘If you don’t address those challenges, they’re going to persist’

Students’ continuing to struggle with math assessments is probably due to lost instruction during the pandemic, said David DeMatthews, a University of Texas associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy .

“If students are struggling, it often has to do with challenges they had in the past, and if you don’t address those challenges, they’re going to persist,” DeMatthews said. “The pandemic disrupted some core instruction around math.”

More ought to be done to address math challenges statewide, said Gabe Grantham, policy adviser at Texas 2036, a public policy think tank.

“With 55% of our students below grade level in Algebra I, we run the risk of leaving students ill-equipped to enter the future workforce without the basic math skills needed to be successful,” Grantham said.

The state should also consider serious changes to the way it recruits and retains teachers, DeMatthews said.

High-quality teachers are the most impactful component of a student’s success, he said. Teachers need to come into the classroom prepared to teach and get training on the job, he said.

“Across the state and in Austin and elsewhere, where districts are struggling to recruit and maintain quality teachers, you’re going to see scores stagnate or decline,” DeMatthews said.

Parents can view their children’s STAAR results at texasassessment.gov.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: TEA: Austin, Texas high school math STAAR scores stagnant