Education and Workforce
for the Future

Recommendations

What the Data Says

Despite steady growth on the 2026 STAAR exam for grades 3-8, roughly half of Texas students are meeting grade-level expectations across all subjects — including 55% in reading and 43% in math.

Further, in 2024, Texas eighth graders received their lowest score on the NAEP math exam since 1996. From their peak score in 2011, Texas eighth graders have since fallen 21 points — roughly two grade levels of learning — and now trail the national average.

Ensuring Texas becomes the best state in the nation for public education requires data-driven strategies to increase academic proficiency, so all students have the skills needed to be successful.

Similarly, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is one of the state’s most powerful tools for closing the gap between high College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) rates and low credential attainment rates, yet access and program quality remain inconsistent.

Between 2017-2022, the rate of students earning an industry-based certification disconnected from their own program of study was nearly three in four. High-quality pathways can also require specialized instructors, equipment and partnerships that are difficult for a single district to sustain, leaving proven models like Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) under-enrolled on some campuses while nearby students lack comparable options.

The state has built much of the infrastructure needed. The next step is to better connect programs, institutions and employers so more students can complete rigorous CTE pathways that prepare them for what comes next — whether that’s college, career or the military.

Foundations
for Prosperity

Recommendations

What the Data Says

Healthcare in Texas is unaffordable for two reasons: the prices patients are charged for care and what it actually costs to provide it.

For a family covered through an employer plan, total annual premiums for family coverage averaged roughly $27,000 in 2025 — a figure that approaches one-third of the median household income.

Additionally, a 2023 analysis found that 56% of uninsured Texans were eligible for existing coverage. Surveyed directly, 70% of uninsured Texans said they were not sure whether they qualified for ACA coverage at all, and 23% did not know what the ACA was, showing that the gap here is not price but information and awareness.

When it comes to childcare, state and federal early childhood programs combined reach only about one in six of Texas’ 2.6 million children under the age of six. Meanwhile, at least five state agencies (plus federal Head Start) regulate or fund childcare, with no single entity accountable for system outcomes.

With governance fractured, parents and employers are experiencing challenges in childcare quality and access, as well as work interruptions. A 2026 survey of employers found that childcare-related disruptions cost Texas employers $7.9 billion annually, while a survey of parents showed 56.7% of parents say the cost of care has affected their decisions about having more children.

Infrastructure
for Growth

Recommendations

What the Data Says

According to the 2027 State Water Plan, Texas faces a long-term water supply deficit if it does not expand and diversify its water supply portfolio and is afflicted by a long, severe drought. Inadequate water infrastructure, including insufficient water supplies and failing water systems, will cost the state economy billions.

Meanwhile, data from Texas 2036’s work with the Office of the State Climatologist indicates that Texas will endure a greater frequency of extreme weather events in the coming decades. These will include worsening floods, greater wildfire risks and, among other meteorological calamities, stronger hurricanes.

Extreme weather events such as Hurricane Harvey (2017), Winter Storm Uri (2021), and the Hill County floods (2025 and 2026) have incurred billions of dollars in damages and caused hundreds of deaths.

Rising extreme weather risks contributed to a 55% increase in homeowners’ insurance premiums between 2019 and 2024.

On the plus side, Texas punches above its weight with its contributions to U.S. energy production. In 2025, Texas produced 42.3% of the nation’s crude oil, 28.5% of U.S. natural gas, 27.9% of U.S. wind power generation and 19.8% of the nation’s total utility-scale solar.

Government Performance
and Accountability

Recommendations

What the Data Says

Texas has the eighth-largest economy in the world, growing faster than many peers. Maintaining that success requires a government that can plan ahead, allocate resources wisely, measure results, and adapt as Texas changes.

With over 31 million residents and a biennial budget of approximately $338 billion, Texas has the opportunity to set the national standard for effective state government. Doing so depends on planning, modern technology, strong data systems, disciplined fiscal planning and a commitment to accountability.

Those capabilities strengthen every policy area Texas 2036 works in. Better data improves health, childcare, public safety, education and workforce outcomes. Long-term fiscal planning supports investments in water, energy and infrastructure. Government performance is not a standalone issue — it is the foundation that makes every public investment more effective.