FIRST ON FOX: The Houston Independent School District (HISD), the largest school system in Texas, has seen dramatic improvements in student grades and test scores across its more than 270 campuses in the years since a state takeover.The sweeping intervention followed years of academic underperformance and drew ongoing accusations of racism and unfairness.Across the district's elementary and middle schools, students in grades 3 through 8 showed substantial improvements in reading and math scores on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests in the three school years since the Texas Education Agency (TEA) took control.Furthermore, students in HISD high schools made significant year-over-year improvements from 2023 to 2026 in algebra, English, biology, and U.S.
history, effectively narrowing performance gaps compared to state averages, according to data provided to Fox News Digital."People may have worried about the intervention, and I understand the politics of that, but really it was focused on kids, achievement, and their future—not adult issues," HISD Superintendent Mike Miles told Fox News Digital."And we have shown that we can make any district that's struggling, especially large or medium urban districts, move very quickly to do right by kids and raise achievement results."TEXAS PARENTS RUSH TO ENROLL THEIR KIDS INTO STATE'S SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMThe Houston Independent School District (HISD) logo is displayed on a sign.
HISD students have made significant improvements to test scores in the three years since Texas took over the school district, officials said.(Getty Images)In 2023, the TEA officially took over HISD, replacing its elected leadership with a state-appointed board of managers and installing Miles as superintendent."When you have kids who are that far behind in reading and math, we came in with a high sense of urgency," Miles said of his efforts to reform what many viewed as a failing system.Upon taking office, Miles intro...