San Antonio – 2022

Overall:

Compared to an average student in the state, Students in San Antonio exhibited weaker learning gains in reading, while grew similarly in math throughout the 2017-18 and 2018-19 growth periods.

Sector:

In both reading and math, San Antonio charter students made similar learning gains than the state average in 2017-18 growth period. In 2018-19 growth period, San Antonio charter students outperformed their peers in the state in reading, while grew similarly in math. Students in San Antonio innovation schools, a newly introduced sector in 2018-19 school year, exhibited similar growth in both reading and math compared to the state average. District students in San Antonio made weaker learning gains in both subjects in 2017-18 growth period, while the weaker and statistically significant growth was only observed for reading in 2018-19 growth period.

Comparisons of sectors within San Antonio indicate there is significant difference in learning gains in reading between charter and district schools in both growth periods. Innovation schools showed stronger growth in reading than the district schools, while exhibited no difference in learning gains compared to the charter schools. For math, no significant differences in growth were found for either between charter and district schools or between innovation and district schools.

A deeper dive into San Antonio student growth for the period ending in Spring 2019 reveals the following findings:

Charter School Type:

San Antonio charter schools affiliated with a Charter Management Organization (CMO) make greater progress in reading and similar progress in math compared to the state average. Students attending San Antonio independent charter schools grow on par with an average student in the state in reading, while showed stronger growth in math. Within the San Antonio charter sector, CMOs grew on par with the independent charter schools in both subjects.

Race/Ethnicity:

Overall, San Antonio black students make weaker learning gains in reading, while make greater progress in math compared to an average black student in the state. Breakout analyses by sector suggest that black students enrolled in charter schools show similar growth in reading and math than the average black student in the state. San Antonio innovation and traditional district school black students also grow similarly in both subjects compared to the state average. Shifting the focus to sector comparison within San Antonio, black students enrolled in charter made stronger learning gains in reading than black students in district schools. Black students in innovation schools post similar growth than district school black students in both subjects within San Antonio.

San Antonio Hispanic students overall show weaker growth in reading and similar growth in math than the average Hispanic student in the state. Sector breakout analyses reveal that Hispanic students in San Antonio charter schools make similar learning gains in reading and math relative to the average Hispanic student statewide. Similarly, Hispanic students in innovation schools make similar learning gains in reading math compared to the average Hispanic student in the state. Hispanic students in district schools make weaker learning gains in reading and similar learning gains in math compared to an average student in the state. Cross-sector comparisons within San Antonio indicate stronger growth among charter and innovation schoolHispanic students than growth among district school Hispanic students in reading. No significant difference in reading and math growth is found between Hispanic students in San Antonio innovation schools and district schools.

Poverty, ELL, and Special Education:

San Antonio students living in poverty overall post weaker learning gains in reading and similar learning gains in math compared to the average student living in poverty in the state. Sector breakout analyses show students in poverty enrolled in San Antonio charter schools exhibit stronger growth in reading, while grow on par with an average student in poverty in the state in math. San Antonio innovation schools grow on par with the state average in both subjects, and district school students in poverty underperform the average student in poverty statewide in reading, while made similar learning gains in math. Comparisons of sectors within San Antonio demonstrate charter school students in poverty outperform district school students in poverty in reading, while no significant difference in learning gains is found between innovation school students in poverty and district school students in poverty in either subject.

English Language Learners (ELLs) in San Antonio as a whole demonstrate similar learning gains in reading and math relative to the average ELL student in the state. School sector breakout analyses indicate that when compared to the statewide average ELL, San Antonio ELLs in charter and innovation schools grow similarly in reading and math. Similarly, ELLs in San Antonio district schools post similar learning gains relative to the state average ELL in both subjects. Cross-sector comparisons within San Antonio indicate that ELLs students enrolled in charter schools show stronger gains in reading when compared to their peers in district schools, while there are no other significant sector differences in learning gains in math.

San Antonio students receiving special education services overall exhibit similar growth in both reading and math. Breakout analyses by sector suggest that special education students enrolled in San Antonio charter schools made stronger growth in reading, and grow on par in math compared to an average student in special education statewide. Students receiving special education in innovation schools grow on par with their peers in the state. Students receiving special education services in district schools underperform their counterparts in reading, and post similar learning gains in math compared to the state average. Comparisons within San Antonio demonstrate that compared to the district school students receiving special education services, charter students receiving special education services make greater progress in reading. Innovation students receiving special education services post similar growth in both subjects than the district school students receiving special education services.

Gender:

Both male and female students in San Antonio overall post weaker growth in reading and similar growth in math than the average student of the same gender in the state. The patterns of learning gains for students by gender mirror each other when broken down by school sector. Male and female students studying in San Antonio charter schools outperform their peers in the state in reading, while make similar growth in math. Students of each gender enrolled in San Antonio district schools make weaker learning gains in reading and similar learning gains in math relative to the state average of the same gender group. For students in innovation schools, both male and female students grow on par with their peers in the state in reading and math. Comparisons of sectors within San Antonio reveal that male students enrolled in charter and innovation school outperform the male students enrolled in the district schools in reading, while for math, only charter school outperform the male students in district schools. Female students in charter schools make greater learning gains in reading than female students in San Antonio district schools, while female students in innovation schools grow similarly than the female students in San Antonio district schools.