Strong growth in Algebra I and Biology highlights progress in courses critical to college and career success

DALLAS, June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) assessment results for the 2025-26 school year, offering an important snapshot of how students across Texas are progressing toward key academic milestones tied to postsecondary readiness and long-term economic opportunity.

Dallas County grew the percentage of students meeting grade level standard by 7 points across all EOC assessments, outpacing the state's growth of 5 percentage points.

Across Dallas County, students demonstrated growth across all five EOC assessments, with 14 of the county's 15 largest school systems increasing their overall percentage of students meeting grade levels across EOCs. Of those 15 systems, 7 surpassed the growth seen by the state.

"These results reflect years of sustained, intentional work across our school systems," said Miguel Solis, President of The Commit Partnership. "Across Dallas County, district leaders, campus leaders, and teachers are increasingly aligned around what matters most for student success, particularly in high school."

"Through stronger collaboration, a shared commitment to ensuring students have access to rigorous, grade-level instruction throughout their academic journey, and clearer pathways to college and career success, districts are creating more coherent experiences that support student achievement," Solis continued. "The improvements we are seeing on EOCs are the result of this long-term focus on high-quality teaching and learning."

Growth was particularly strong in Algebra I and Biology. Since 2025, Dallas County students achieved an increase of 9 percentage points in Algebra 1 proficiency and an increase of 12 percentage points in Biology proficiency at the "meets grade level" standard.

The encouraging trends in Algebra I and Biology are especially notable given the role both courses play in preparing students for success after high school. Research demonstrates that students who complete Algebra I in 8th grade are more likely to enroll in and persist in postsecondary education, which is linked to higher lifetime earnings.

Today's release doesn't provide the grade level of the Algebra 1 testers; however, many Dallas County districts have implemented policies to increase the number of students accessing the course in middle school so it's encouraging to see the results trending in this direction. Additionally, Biology provides foundational knowledge for many healthcare and STEM pathways, sectors that remain among the largest and fastest-growing employers in the Dallas region.

Looking ahead, House Bill 8, enacted during the second special session of the 89th Texas Legislature, will expand the tools available to school systems for monitoring student progress throughout the academic year. Although the legislation eliminates the English II EOC assessment beginning in 2027–28, it also authorizes optional beginning- and middle-of-year assessments in the remaining EOC subjects that are aligned to state standards. These assessments can help educators identify and address learning gaps earlier, enabling more timely interventions and better preparation for end-of-year assessments.

The EOC results released this week represent the first installment of a broader picture of student outcomes that will continue to emerge throughout June as STAAR results become available for grades 3–8. The Commit Partnership will continue analyzing the data to better understand where students are making progress, where challenges remain, and what practices may help accelerate long-term student success across Dallas County.

TEA makes statewide assessment data publicly available, and the information is often shared through reports and data files that require time, context, and technical expertise to fully interpret. The Commit Partnership translates that data into accessible insights that can be more easily understood and used to inform decisions that support student success.

Commit's 2025–26 STAAR Results Data Dashboard turns complex state data into accessible, visual insights that allow educators, policymakers, funders, and community leaders to compare results across places, student groups, subjects, and years. We also provide additional views of the data that are especially relevant to local decision-makers, including county-level trends, regional comparisons, legislative districts, and other groupings that are not always easy to see through state reporting alone.

"Data is most useful when people can understand it and act on it," Chelsea Jeffery, Chief of Strategy, Insights & Talent at The Commit Partnership. "As a third-party nonprofit, Commit works alongside partners to interpret analysis and mine for insights that help align everyone to what these results mean and how we can scale what works for students."

Commit's dashboard reporting initial insights and results of STAAR EOC Results for Dallas County can be found here.

Read more about Commit's analysis of STAAR EOC Results for Dallas County on its Latest Learnings blog here.

About The Commit Partnership
The Commit Partnership aims to break the cycle of poverty in Dallas County by examining its numerous root causes and working with others to remove systemic barriers to opportunity for all students. Commit Partnership discovers robust data insights and activates them through trusted relationships to innovate systems and unlock public funding in ways that address the root causes creating current student outcomes. Commit Partnership's true north goal is that, by 2040, at least half of all 25–34-year-old residents in Dallas County, irrespective of race, will earn a living wage.

For more information, connect with Commit Partnership at communications@commitpartnership.org and on social media.

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SOURCE The Commit Partnership