Here's how some Texas schools are making academic improvements, according to new study

Although Central Texas students may still be facing academic obstacles in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, a new education research analysis by children's advocacy nonprofit Children at Risk revealed signs of improvement in many Austin-area schools.
The group's analysis, published Wednesday, however, found that schools in Central Texas could and should be doing more to improve outcomes for economically disadvantaged children, whose academic performance was more affected by disruptions to in-person learning caused by the pandemic compared with students from higher income backgrounds.
The nonprofit ranked most schools in Central Texas that serve the highest proportion of economically disadvantaged students fairly low on scales measuring student growth, which evaluate if student scores improved on state tests, and on campus performance, which indicates how the school scored on tests compared with schools that have similar demographics.
Despite this concern, the nonprofit awarded 50% more schools with Gold Ribbon status, a designation for campuses serving low-income students that are out-performing their peer schools. That's a good sign of academics trending in the right direction, said Robert Sanborn, president and CEO of Children at Risk, a public policy nonprofit focused on Texas children's issues.
Although school administrators still must provide more supports to help students improve their academic outcomes, the progression is faring better, Sanborn said.
'Overall, right after the pandemic, we saw this sharp decline,' Sanborn said. 'It was exasperated by the state not increasing public school funding for two legislative sessions.'
In the time since, however, many school districts have implemented initiatives to help students recover from learning gaps created in the pandemic, such as high-quality prekindergarten programs. Student outcomes also showed improvement in schools where superintendents and principals changed their teaching methods to meet students' changed learning needs, he said.
'It's not business as usual with the Texas student body,' Sanborn said. 'The things that those principals do that makes a difference is creating this cutlure of high expectations.'
Children at Risk grades campuses based on how students perform on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test and on how the school performed overall compared with other campuses with students who have similar levels of poverty. The nonprofit also factors in students' growth on the STAAR test and, for high schools, students' college readiness.
"Schools across every region of Texas are showing improvement, particularly among middle and high schools, with college readiness seeing the most progress," said Nadia Salibi, chief impact officer.
Children at Risk also awards high-performing campuses that consist of at least 75% economically disadvantaged students with a Gold Ribbon status.
More than 62% of Texas students were economically disadvantaged in the 2023-24 school year, a slight increase of 0.5% from the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Locally, Children at Risk designated seven elementary campuses as Gold Ribbon Schools.
The elementary schools awarded Gold Ribbon status were Guerrero Thompson in Austin, Smith in Del Valle, Patlan in Seguin, Newton Collins in Del Valle, Copperfield in Pflugerville, Rodriguez in Austin and Oralia R. Rodriguez in Seguin.
Last year, Smith Elementary School in the Del Valle district was the only campus to be named a Gold Ribbon School in Central Texas.
Only 17% of low-income schools meet the Gold Ribbon status, Salibi said, adding "There is still more work to do."
While the increase in Gold Ribbon Schools is positive, more needs to be done to help economically disadvantaged students recover from pandemic-related disruptions, said Christine Thomas, senior associate director of the Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation at Children at Risk.
'It's a move in the right direction, but Central Texas is lacking in that department,' Thomas said.
Overall, Sanborn would give the state an average rating in terms of educating students, he said.
'We have some great schools,' Sanborn said. 'We have some horrible schools, but when you look at all the schools, you get a C.'
The Children at Risk data comes two weeks after the National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the Nation's Report Card, rang alarm bells for children's reading scores around the country.
Despite some improvements in post-pandemic math performance, experts at that National Center for Education Statistics expressed concern for students' struggles in reading.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Nonprofit's school rankings signal some improvements for Texas schools

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