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Superintendent: mixed district test results after first year of new curriculum; Sam Houston posts large reading gains
Summary
Superintendent Miss How told the board that 2025–26 district results were mixed—typical for year one of a new curriculum—while campuses with advanced implementation saw stronger results; she highlighted Sam Houston’s nearly 30‑point gain in third‑grade reading and noted selection for a Bluebonnet two‑year beacon grant.
Superintendent Miss How presented the Ashley School District’s 2025–26 student achievement results on June 15, saying overall results were mixed but that stronger classroom implementation of the district’s new curriculum correlated with higher student outcomes.
Miss How described the expected pattern when adopting a rigorous new curriculum: year‑one implementation can produce flat or slightly lower scores as teachers and students adapt to new pacing and instructional routines. She said classrooms where staff achieved “advanced implementer” status were roughly twice as likely to reach meets/masters levels on benchmark assessments compared with classrooms still in early implementation.
The superintendent singled out Sam Houston campus, reporting nearly 30 percentage points of growth in third‑grade reading meets/masters, and noted the district had been selected as one of 14 Bluebonnet beacons — a two‑year recognition/grant from the Texas Education Agency — based on the district’s implementation work and change‑management approach.
Miss How walked through elementary grade trends, acknowledging decreases that were generally within five to ten points and plans to increase instructional leadership and targeted supports. She also described anecdotal classroom examples of student engagement and noted plans to continue year‑two implementation strategies, including targeted professional learning communities, lesson rehearsals and student work analysis.
The report also included a clarification about high‑school reporting: district staff said publicly posted high‑school scores that include retesters can appear lower than the official accountability figures, because accountability ratings use first‑time testers; when the district compared first‑time testers year‑to‑year it reported substantial gains in English I (about +19 percentage points) and in Algebra I (about +14 points).
