Despite improvements in state test scores at three North Austin middle school campuses, the percentage of students on grade level remains far lower than state and district averages, escalating the threat of a state takeover of the entire school system. Less than 40% of Dobie, Burnet and Webb middle school students on average passed the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR tests, according to data released Tuesday.
The scores forecast an increasingly growing threat of the state taking over the entire school system. The state may be mandated to act if any one of the three middle schools receives a failing grade from the Texas Education Agency in August. While the TEA doesn’t publicly release letter grades until August, districts often calculate their scores in advance.
Dobie, Burnet and Webb middle schools have struggled to meet grade level standards since 2019, when all three campuses received an F rating. The state assigns schools an A-F letter grade based largely upon results of the STAAR test. If a campus receives five failing grades in a row, Texas law requires the state to either shut down the struggling campus or take over the entire school district. During a takeover, the TEA typically removes the superintendent and elected trustees, appointing their own picks to the leadership positions.
On average, students at Dobie, Burnet and Webb improved their STAAR performance since 2025. However, in every subject and grade level, at least 49% of students did not pass the test. Only 8% of Webb sixth graders met math standards. Between 14 and 16% of sixth graders at Dobie and Burnet met math standards. Only 4% of Webb sixth graders met reading standards. At Dobie and Burnet, 26% and 16% of sixth graders, respectively, met reading standards.
Senate Bill 1882, a 2017 law, allows districts to partner with charter schools, universities or nonprofits to unlock extra state funding for a campus and pause accountability sanctions for two years. The TEA must approve the partner for those benefits to go into effect. Although the TEA has previously approved 1882 partnerships with TCIS elsewhere in the state, agency officials told Austin ISD in a letter last month that standards have become more rigorous since a rule change in 2020. The agency cited an “uneven” TCIS track record on boosting student learning as a reason the campuses would not get an accountability pause.