Invest in literacy, math for Texas’ youngest students

Here is one of the most important facts we need to grapple with as a state: Texas public schools aren’t providing kids with basic math and reading skills.

About 25% of the state’s eighth graders scored at or above proficiency in math and reading in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In 2000, that number was 24% for math. It was 27% for reading in 1998. In other words, we aren’t making progress.

That’s why lawmakers must invest in early education that catches gaps before they grow. Lost progress in lower grades is very difficult to make up later. Schools owe students instruction that can lead them down a successful career path.

This year’s House Bill 2 covers state education finance, and lawmakers are still working out the details as of the Friday afternoon deadline for this editorial. The latest version available comes with provisions that would boost early learning in math and reading.

Until the details are final, we won’t know how all the nuts and bolts of this program would work, but we’re hopeful the basic ideas will make it to the final version.

The bill would direct the Texas Education Agency to set up a list of screening tools school districts would use to measure the math and reading progress in students from kindergarten to third grade. That would allow staff to identify specific areas where each student needs extra help.

Kids would be screened twice in kindergarten and third grade and three times in first and second. An intervention would happen if a student’s results indicate they’re at risk of falling behind on two consecutive reading screenings. As of Friday afternoon, the bill doesn’t appear to include math interventions. We’d like to see that change.

Parents would get access to a $400 grant administered through an online system, with a maximum of two grants per student. They would be able to spend that money on TEA-approved tutoring services. That could include certified district teachers who apply to be part of the approved list or other approved vendors.

Anyone who has ever paid for tutoring knows that $400 isn’t all that much. But it’s a good start while the state tests this program. And lawmakers could always come back and increase it in future sessions if we see signs of success.

Through a few other provisions, the bill would also slightly increase the amount of per-student funding districts receive for kindergarten through third grade enrollment. It would give districts $250 per student undergoing an intervention, capped at 10% of total kindergarten through third grade enrollment.

Apart from helping struggling kids catch up, these programs can also give us a much better look into how our youngest students are performing across the state. As lawmakers in future years contemplate how education policy should proceed, that’ll be invaluable.