What Test Scores Don’t Measure

Jason Castillo

This piece was written by Jason Castillo, Policy Program Specialist at the Hogg Foundation. It has been edited for length and clarity. The views expressed in this post are the author’s and do not represent those of the Hogg Foundation.

In the Fall of 2023, students at Houston Independent School District’s (HISD) Heights High School returned to schools removed from local control and placed under direct state oversight by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). An unintended consequence of this shift was a reduction of clubs for students, which allowed them to connect under shared interests and shared identities. Christianna Thomas, who was a sophomore at the time, recalls that several teachers who were pillars of the community had resigned after the takeover.

“People miss how important the environment is for student well-being,” says Christianna. “They don’t think about the importance of affinity clubs and school groups.”

Indeed, school connectedness is associated with lower risks of poor mental health for students. Student-led clubs, like those at Heights’s High School, are an important way that schools can foster student well-being.

The TEA assumed control of HISD following years of state scrutiny. Their concerns included five years of failing accountability ratings at Wheatley High School. Under Texas law, the TEA commissioner is required to take action in response to low test scores, which can include a state takeover as seen in HISD. This is why Houston’s test scores were the focus during discussions of failing accountability ratings.

Since the state takeover, HISD has seen its number of failing schools drop from 56 before the takeover to just five as of the 2025-2026 school year. However, HISD has also seen a sharp increase in the hiring of uncertified and first-year teachers following the takeover as veteran teachers left HISD for neighboring school districts. This new hiring alongside purchases of new equipment and increased salaries has been expensive for the district, with the Texas Tribune reporting that HISD has had to pull almost $450 million from its rainy-day fund during the takeover.

Besides cost increases, others say that student well-being has been made an afterthought. Alyssa Chessari and Brooke Fousek, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, say that the centrality of test scores in discussions surrounding school takeovers has come at the expense of indicators that measure holistic needs of students.

“Other measures of student success, like student well-being, high teacher turnover, transportation, and community participation have been put on the backburner,” says Alyssa. In addition to high teacher turnover, the researchers cite low community engagement, higher disciplinary rates for students, and opaque spending as indicators that call for more attention. “Right now, we don’t have all the data,” says Brooke. “It will be years before we know the full impact of the takeover.”

Dr. Maria Benzon, a 25-year veteran educator who now sits on the HISD Board of Trustees, describes how the whole student should be considered in educational settings. “People value the [accountability] ratings, but we don’t talk about student well-being. There’s so much that we don’t capture about schools with ratings,” Maria says. Her many years of experience as a teacher tells her that there is a crucial social element to teaching and learning that she worries is being lost in the conversation about school accountability.

As the Austin Independent School District wrestles with the possibility of state intervention in its own schools, academic performance should be weighed alongside student well-being and whether students feel supported.

Christianna is now a freshman at Georgetown University and the programs director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, a student-led educational policy advocacy organization. She says that her experience as a student in the wake of the state takeover at Heights High School made her see the importance of student voice in these decisions. “Austin students should take opportunities for civic engagement now,” said Christianna. “The networks that exist right now will go away.”

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