Superintendent Mike Miles Says in Two Years HISD Will Only Have A and B-Rated Schools

Never let it be said that Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles hesitates about the big stuff, especially when it leads to a crescendo ending at one of his power point presentations.  Tuesday he demonstrated that when he pledged that “By August 2027, all schools in HISD will be A or B-rated.”

At the August 15 school board meeting, Miles ventured that such a goal was “possible” On Tuesday, he went all in.

As part of what he’s calling The Houston Promise, Miles says the remaining C and D-rated schools (there were no F-rated HISD schools in the state’s latest assessment) will improve to A and B status with a continuation of his approach to education which he says involves rigorous standards and quality teaching.

At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Miles showed chart after chart tracking the considerable academic progress shown by HISD students on standardized tests in the last two years. He’d covered most of the material in earlier presentations with a few new specifics. But he saved his boldest statement for last by promising that within two years all campuses would be in the top two tiers as assessed by the Texas Education Agency. .

“We went from 93 A and B campuses to 197,” he said. “We have thousands more kids reading at grade level than ever before. We have thousands more kids doing math at grade level than ever before. “

In the 2025 school ratings from the TEA, 18 schools got a D rating and another 50 a C. The number of C-rated schools has stayed pretty much the same over the past three school years, but the number of D-rated schools has significantly decreased. Meanwhile the number of A and B-rated schools significantly increased.

To Miles’ mind (his contingent of detractors do not agree), he has shown the right way to turn a school district around. Asked what strategies other school districts up for possible takeover (Fort Worth ISD a likely candidate) should employ, he repeated his basic mantra of academic rigor and quality instruction.

A Q&A session followed his prepared remarks and in response to one such question, he said that experienced New Education System teachers whose own schools are determined to have excess staff, may be offered positions at the C and D-rated schools this school year.

He also talked about his efforts to enlist a number of community partners to help certain campuses.

Asked to explain what  that support would look like, HISD Chief of Public Affairs and Communications Alex Elizondo responded on Miles behalf:

“There are 64 schools that are district-run right now that have a C or D rating. So we’ve asked these organizations, businesses, non-profits, anyone who wants to participate in this to sign up to sponsor a school.  What that is is two teacher appreciation lunches, a student celebration and campus cleanup or beautification day — whatever the principal thinks makes the most sense — and a donation that the principal can use at their discretion towards academic needs of students.”

Asked if HISD is going to participate in a pilot program for the development of the new state tests to replace the STAAR as the Texas Legislature voted to do, Miles said “I don’t know if we’ll participate.” He said with the kind of instruction and testing HISD students have now, they will continue to grow (as in the number of them reading and doing math on grade level) and they shouldn’t have any trouble with any new test from the state.

A follow-up question from one reporter — “What happens in 2027 … if the district doesn’t meet that goal of all A and B schools?” — gave Miles a moment’s pause as he considered and rejected his unsaid initial response. But then, collecting his thoughts, he rallied:

“Look, we’ve already made history. That’s No. 1.  No.2, this is the biggest goal and and challenge that any urban district has ever made. And if we fall a little short, so what? We already have 197 A and B schools Let’s say we fall five short. We’re going to have 255, 260 A and B schools?  That’s incredible. We’re going to call that a win.”