Houston ISD students are confident in their reading skills and feel good about their classes, though they’re less likely to talk to their teachers than kids in other Texas schools.
Those findings come from the latest results of the Nation’s Report Card, a test that’s best known for measuring student academic scores but also includes a survey of how thousands of children feel about their schools.
As part of the Nation’s Report Card, students in four of Texas’ largest districts — Houston, Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth ISDs — answered various questions about their opinions of teachers, tutoring, and their own confidence levels in reading and math. Teachers and administrators also answered a couple of questions about what’s available to students in their district.
State officials don’t ask similar questions across Texas districts, making the Nation’s Report Card a rare window into student perspectives regarding their schools.
About 3,000 fourth graders and 3,000 eighth graders in HISD took the exam, with students only participating in the reading or math test. Here’s what HISD’s eighth graders had to say, and how the results compare to other Texas districts.
A mostly warm climate
The Nation’s Report Card asked students three questions related to school climate. Fewer HISD students said they fully agreed with the statement that they “feel comfortable talking with their teachers” compared to other districts, but they felt teachers had high expectations for students and were available when they needed them.
Wide access, but limited participation?
Yet roughly three-quarters of students reported that they hadn’t received tutoring in math or reading during the 2023-24 school year. This pattern was common across districts.
A large majority of HISD administrators and teachers said the district provided access to tutoring and social-emotional support for most or all students following the pandemic.
Feeling confident in HISD
In addition to giving students math and reading questions, the Nation’s Report Card asked test takers to gauge their confidence in solving problems. For example, eighth graders were asked to describe their confidence in determining a 20 percent tip on a $67 restaurant bill or their confidence in figuring out the main idea of a text.
HISD students had much more confidence in their reading skills than their math skills, similar to those in other Texas districts surveyed. But overall, HISD students were slightly more confident in the two subjects than their peers in other districts.
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