Waco Independent School District’s failing campuses reported mixed results on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam.
The Texas Education Agency released preliminary STAAR data on Tuesday for Grades 3-8. The Waco Bridge took a deep dive into the local campuses that had turnaround plans or struggled with failing accountability, as well as Waco’s performance districtwide
More elementary school students in the district failed reading based on the preliminary STAAR rates than in 2025. Passing scores decreased by about 5 percentage points. At the middle school level, more students in the district failed at math and reading despite gains in reading at G.W Carver Middle School.
Zooming in to specific campuses, the results are mixed.
Parkdale, Dean Highland and South Waco elementary schools saw more students passing the STAAR math exam than last year. In addition, the three campuses had more students receive “masters,” which is the highest category of scores. This comes after the school district implemented the Bluebonnet Math curriculum last fall to improve student math scores.
Both South Waco and Dean Highland schools will be overseen by Third Future Schools this fall as part of an 1882 partnership intended to approve the schools’ accountability ratings and stave off a takeover by the state.The partnership gives Waco ISD a two-year pause from state intervention due to failing ratings. South Waco has received five consecutive years of failing ratings and Dean Highland has received three consecutive years of failing ratings. Parkdale has received two years of consecutive failing ratings.
J.H. Hines Elementary School, which has also struggled with low ratings, saw a decline in math and reading passing rates on this year’s exams. More students failed in math and reading at the school in 2026 than the previous year. However, more students also reached “meets grade level” in reading than last year.
G.W. Carver Middle School, which has received three consecutive years of failing scores from the TEA, saw improved passing rates in reading but decreases in math scores. Its math rates remain behind the district’s average, which also decreased.
G. W. Carver Middle School students had a slight increase in students passing the reading exam, with 45% of students passing the STAAR reading test for Grades 6 to 8, compared to 41% of students passing last year. However, rates still lag behind the district average of 57% in reading for 2026.
“I am proud of the positive gains in English I, English II, and Algebra I End of Course Exams and how our focused efforts to improve College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) are showing success,” Waco ISD Superintendent Tiffany Spicer said. “We are also seeing some gains across the district with the implementation of the new Math and English curricula; however we are aware we still have opportunities to grow. We are one year into implementation of new Math and English curricula and I am thankful for the hard work and dedication shown by our faculty and staff. We know that the changes we have made and continue to refine will improve our performance over time.”
