By Manny Soto, CREEED Data Director
This year’s STAAR results reveal a mix of concerning, yet promising news when it comes to academic performance in the El Paso region.
On the not so great front, 2024 data shows that nearly five years after the COVID pandemic upended education, El Paso schools have not fully recovered. While students have incrementally improved year over year in reading and math, when we compare our region’s 2024 MEETS grade level standard results to 2019, El Paso students are still performing 20% lower in math and 30% lower in Algebra. That’s about 1,600 fewer students per grade who are hitting the MEETS grade level standards today than in 2019.
This data is troubling. Students who perform below the MEETS grade level standard are more likely to struggle with the core subjects needed to complete high school and miss out on the opportunity to take classes that give them a head start on college, such as dual credit and early college access programs. These courses are important tools for ensuring that students are as prepared as possible for higher education and therefore critical to raising El Paso’s level of educational attainment.
If we do not improve the situation, history tells us that more than three quarters of our 8th graders are unlikely to get a college degree.
But there are bright spots. Take Socorro ISD’s exceptional middle school performance in Algebra 1. In 2019, barely a third of El Paso’s 8th graders were successfully passing Algebra 1, a class that serves as a gateway to college-prep coursework in high school. While many local districts continue to have low student enrollment in Algebra, Socorro set a goal of having all 8th graders take this foundational course, and it recently hit a 90% enrollment rate. In 2024, over 60% of Socorro’s 8th graders passed the state Algebra 1 test at the MEETS grade level standards, far outpacing other school districts which averaged a passing rate between 10 and 25 percent, when all eighth graders are considered.
CREEED has invested in initiatives to help districts like Socorro and Canutillo enroll more 8th graders in Algebra and provide students with support needed to succeed in math. We have also expanded access to dual credit and early college access programs by offering teachers scholarships to obtain the certification required to teach these courses. These investments and others are helping to build a robust and challenging public education environment for all students, one that will prepare them for college and career success.
We are committed to increasing college readiness in our public schools because we want to see more students enrolling in college and completing their degree programs. Data continues to show that college graduates earn more than their peers, and become more civically engaged. Anyone who cares about what El Paso will be like in 20 years should be paying attention to what is happening in our schools. Working to improve K-12 public education is an investment not just in our young people’s future, but the future of El Paso.
The data shows we have more work to do. But it also shows that our interventions are helping. This is not a time to sit on the sidelines. Learn more about how schools and students in our region are doing by visiting www.creeed.org/data/ and join us in preparing all students for college and career success.