[en español clic aqui] Miles has spent the past year bragging at the Legislature and to anyone who will listen that STAAR scores are up since the takeover—while quietly rigging the system by restricting access to rigorous courses, especially in Black and Latino communities.
With new STAAR results coming soon, it's crucial that Texans understand that these scores and ratings are manipulated—not a real measure of learning, especially under a takeover administration that won’t even allow students to read full books.
Historically, during gubernatorial election years, the minimum scores to pass the STAAR mysteriously drop—creating the illusion of progress. With no real oversight, the Texas Education Agency can set cut scores to prop up the takeover narrative.
Want proof that Miles boosted scores by excluding students from key courses? Read on. Sources are included.
We must also ask: how many students with more complex needs were pushed out of HISD to boost ratings? At Wainwright Elementary, there were 93 unhoused students before the takeover—only 3 last year. Is that how a school jumps from an F to an A?
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For the 2023-2024 school year, Miles only allowed Pre-AP 9th grade students at NES schools to take Biology and Biology STAAR. He forced 70% of NES 9th graders into non-tested remedial classes, while across the state, almost every ninth grader took Biology as their first high school course. 3,000 students at schools like Wheatley, Yates, and 10 others were pushed into non-tested remedial science courses to artificially boost accountability ratings. At Wheatley, the number of first-time biology testers dropped from 152 in 2023 to just 20 in 2024. Miles calls that “historic progress,” but it’s a manufactured illusion—built by sidelining students from tested subjects and limiting their future. A high school AP Coordinator in HISD explained how Miles’s effort to pump up Biology scores has derailed students’ pathways to taking advanced Science courses: “If 9th graders aren’t taking PreAP Science courses on time,” he said, “we can’t offer kids AP opportunities. Especially if 9th graders aren’t taking Biology.” |
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And despite research that taking Algebra I in eighth grade is strongly linked to greater postsecondary success, 8th Grade Algebra I enrollment in HISD dropped 17% last year.
In fact, Miles completely eliminated Algebra at NES Cullen and Fondren Middle Schools, forcing all high-achieving eighth-grade students at these campuses into on-level math to inflate scores— ultimately denying capable 14-year-olds the chance to take advanced courses like AP Calculus in high school.
This isn’t progress—it’s data manipulation that deepens racial and economic inequities while slashing access to AP and advanced opportunities.
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