Three Austin school district middle schools at the center of the district’s fight to avoid a state takeover posted modest gains on this year’s state exams, but passing rates remained critically low, signaling the campuses could be headed toward a fifth consecutive failing state accountability rating.

Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools improved across math and reading during the 2025-26 school year, but the overwhelming majority of students still did not meet grade-level standards, according to preliminary STAAR results released Tuesday by the Texas Education Agency. In math, just under 10% of students passed math at Dobie and Webb middle schools, with Burnet at 15% of students passing. In reading, students who met or exceeded grade level expectations reached nearly 19% at Burnet, 26% at Dobie and 15.5% at Webb.

The stakes are unusually high for Austin ISD. The three campuses are one failing state accountability rating away from triggering a state intervention, and possibly a state takeover, of the district, with STAAR performance carrying significant weight in those ratings. Based on the preliminary results, the campuses could receive that fifth failing mark when official grades are doled out in August, opening the door for a state intervention as early as this fall.

Austin ISD middle school results

Across Austin ISD, middle school students showed improvement in both math and reading, with districtwide rates for Grade 6 through 8 rising from the previous year. Statewide, results showed similar gains, including growth in seventh and eighth grade reading and eighth grade math.

The early STAAR results showed mixed outcomes across Austin ISD elementary and middle school campuses, reflecting uneven academic recovery as the district works to raise achievement and avoid deeper state intervention. The district’s passing math rates for Grades 6-8 saw a 4 percentage point jump, with a 2 percentage point increase in students passing reading. Still, an estimated 60% of Austin’s students Grades 6-8 have yet to meet expectations in math and just over 40% of those students have yet to meet expectations in reading. In elementary, Grades 3-5 rose 2 percentage points in students passing reading and a 4 percentage point increment in students passing math.

In a statement, Austin ISD said the preliminary results reflect growth in student learning driven by the district’s focus on curriculum alignment, academic supports and staffing strategies. District officials said they plan to continue investing in campuses that need additional support.

“All students in Austin ISD, no matter where they live within their district, can reach high outcomes,” the district said in the statement.

But district officials declined to comment on what the results could mean for Burnet, Dobie and Webb, saying final accountability ratings depend on additional factors including individual student growth, rescored exams and pending science cut scores.

Statewide, Texas elementary and middle school students showed little movement in reading, while math and social studies rates improved.

Education Commissioner Mike Morath said the scores reflect “both the progress Texas students are making and the work that remains ahead,” highlighting continued math gains and notable improvement in middle school reading.

Fifth and eighth grade science test rates are delayed until July 31 due to changes to the science curriculum. School accountability ratings, which rely heavily on standardized test results, will be released by the TEA in August.

In Austin, the results Tuesday reinforce concerns district Superintendent Matias Segura raised in January when he said Burnet, Webb and Dobie middle schools had improved academically but likely not enough to stave off state intervention.

In an effort to avoid state intervention, district board members voted in March to cede operational control of the three failing middle schools to nonprofit Texas Council for International Studies and seek protections under the state’s SB 1882 partnership program, which could pause state accountability ratings for up to two years while the nonprofit worked to improve academic outcomes.

However, the Texas Education Agency denied the request, citing the Texas Council for International Studies’ lack of proven record improving academic outcomes at failing campuses, leaving the district with few remaining options. Austin ISD leaders have said they are working to reverse that decision.

Dobie, Burnet and Webb by the numbers

Despite a nearly 10 percentage point gain in reading among Dobie students, just over 1 in 4 students met or exceeded standards. Burnet Middle School improved in reading to nearly 4 percentage points to nearly 19% of students meeting or exceeding expectations and Webb’s reading rates remained flat at nearly 16%. In math, all three schools rose between four and five percentage points. Despite the substantial gains, a majority of students at the three middle schools were still unable to meet the state’s academic expectations.

Community members and advocates have said the schools persistently struggle with low resources and language barriers. More than 90% of students at each of the three schools are economically disadvantaged and more than 70% of the student population identify as English language learners, meaning their primary language is not English.