While overviewing the Tarrant County successes from the past year, County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare said the state takeover of Fort Worth ISD was \u201cbadly needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 15th annual State of the County, hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, focused on the benefit of Arlington\u2019s entertainment district and how Tarrant County elected officials have saved taxpayer dollars.<\/p>\n
There are typically two State of the County events each year, one hosted in Arlington and another by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe the state takeover of Fort Worth ISD, which was badly needed, will end up being a huge success story for Fort Worth, for Tarrant County and for those kids,\u201d O\u2019Hare told the crowd of roughly 200.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Hare cited the FWISD students\u2019 reading scores, saying \u201cno one can say with a straight face we should just keep doing what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most recent state testing data, released in June 2025, showed improvement<\/a> in reading scores across grades 3-8. According to the 2025 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR exam, 41% of third-graders met grade-level expectations for reading compared to 33% in 2024.<\/p>\n the Fort Worth school district\u2019s test scores have been stagnant for more than a decade before former Superintendent Karen Molinar joined the district. In 2015, just 28% of the district\u2019s third-graders scored on grade level in reading. In 2024, the score was only 2 percentage points higher.<\/p>\n At the time, Molinar acknowledged the scores were not meeting state expectations. Molinar was replaced<\/a> by state-appointed Peter Licata<\/a> when the Texas Education Agency took over the district in March.<\/p>\n Texas students in grades 3-8 take STAAR tests at the end of the spring semester. The 2026 results will be released in June.<\/p>\n