HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
For the seventh largest school district in the country, summer break was mighty slim.
It's what happens when nearly half of your ninth graders fail tougher, new end-of-course exams in writing and reading (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Tests).
It's also why HISD poured millions of dollars and thousands of instructional man hours into 18 days of damage control, a high intensity summer school designed to lift as many students as possible into passing territory when the STAAR test was re-offered in late July.
"We can actually make up a lot of time if the teachers are passionate and the kids are focused and if everyone is sharing a sense of urgency, not just for the test but for the next grade and for life," said Rana Boone, Sharpstown High School Dean of Instruction as the summer term began.
Friday, FOX 26 obtained this summer's statewide ninth grade test results in five key categories. They show progress if hardly perfection.
-- The best news was in science where nearly 49 percent of those re-testing passed the end of course exam.
-- In reading, 38 percent elevated to an acceptable grade.
-- A little more than a third of those re-tested in Math produced a satisfactory score.
-- The number passing social studies and writing were the lowest at 30 and percent respectively.
For a look at all statewide results in the summer re-test go to:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/staar/rpt/sum/yr12/
