Houston ISD's state takeover could end sooner than expected, TEA-appointed superintendent says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Independent School District's state-appointed superintendent said the state takeover of the district could end sooner than expected based on this year's STAAR test results.

Superintendent Mike Miles made that revelation during a Wednesday afternoon press conference, responding to a question from Eyewitness News.

"If we keep up growth like this, we'll be able to transition out into an elected board soon," Miles said.

PREVIOUS STORY: Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles says he needs 4 to 5 years to turn the district around

HISD released data showing increasing test scores at its high schools. Subjects like English II and algebra saw five-point jumps. The greatest change came in biology, which saw a 14-point jump.

Schools that switched to Miles' New Education System saw even more significant jumps. In biology, NES schools had an 18-point jump compared to a seven-point jump for non-NES schools.

"Maybe this suggests that we can get out of intervention status sooner rather than later," Miles said.

To return to local control, Miles said all 123 schools that had a "D" or "F" status would need to earn a "C" or greater.

SEE ALSO: 'School feels like jail': State of the District draws protestors as HISD addresses school budgets

He said many may be upgraded this year based on the STAAR scores.

"Hopefully, it won't take seven or eight years. Maybe now it'll only take a few years," Miles said.

Judy Cheng, whose daughter attends Bellaire High School, celebrated the news.

"The school district is not independent when the state has control over everything," Cheng said.

She also cautioned against judging schools based only on growth.

"At the high-performing school where you have 100% of students approaching grade level and to see that 1% growth is not possible," she said.

Miles predicts HISD will outperform the state and other large districts in terms of growth. The Texas Education Agency will release its test results on Friday.

SEE ALSO: HISD takeover: 1-year review steeped in controversy

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