News Summary
The Texas Education Agency is now authorized to release the A-F accountability grades for public schools following a court ruling that dismissed a lawsuit by several districts. This decision is significant as it will allow for greater transparency regarding school performance. The ratings, which have faced delays due to legal challenges and the pandemic, are crucial for understanding local educational effectiveness and influencing property tax spending. This new set of ratings is expected to provide clearer insights into school performance across Texas.
Austin, Texas – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is now authorized to release the 2024 A-F accountability grades for public schools after a favorable court ruling by the 15th Court of Appeals that dismissed a lawsuit filed by several school districts. This decision marks the agency’s ability to issue its second set of campus ratings since 2019, aiming to enhance transparency and understanding of school performance among families.
The release of the academic accountability ratings in Texas has faced multiple delays in recent years attributed to legal challenges and the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2023, TEA had already published the previous year’s scores following a court approval, demonstrating the ongoing administrative complexities surrounding the ratings.
The A-F accountability system evaluates each public school and district in Texas, providing critical insights into local school performance, which can significantly shape community perceptions. These ratings also influence factors such as property tax spending and workforce recruitment, making them essential for both parents and local administrators.
Chief Justice Scott Brister underscored the necessity for local courts to cease obstructing educational policies in his ruling, emphasizing the importance of a streamlined accountability process. TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky noted that state officials are currently assessing the implications of the ruling, and an announcement regarding the release date for the 2024 ratings is expected in the near future.
The situation leading to this ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2024 by several school districts against TEA Commissioner Mike Morath. The districts argued that the A-F grades were skewed due to concerns about the validity and reliability of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests. Their concerns were particularly focused on issues arising from the computerized scoring used for student essays. A significant number of high school students received zeroes on their written assessments, prompting actions from Dallas Independent School District (DISD) to have approximately 4,600 answers manually rescored. About 43% of those rescored responses showed improvement, raising questions about the discrepancies between classroom performance and test results.
For instance, in the latest ratings, Dallas ISD’s score dropped from a B in 2022 to a C in 2023, while about 14% of Texas schools received D ratings and 7% received F grades. The upcoming 2023-2024 grades are anticipated to provide a more precise depiction of school performance and will be published in August.
Despite ongoing concerns, both Morath and TEA have defended their testing methodology, stating that it is both efficient and comparable in accuracy to traditional human scoring methods. However, another lawsuit initiated in 2024 by several school districts further delayed the release of accountability scores, with claims that alterations to the scoring system were communicated inadequately and deemed unfair.
Support for the release of the 2024 ratings came from the Greater Houston Partnership and Good Reason Houston, who emphasized their significance for community and economic planning. In 2023, the evaluation highlighted that approximately 209 districts earned a D or F designation, yet no Houston-area district received an F grade.
Statewide, at least four districts, namely Beaumont, Fort Worth, Midland, and Wichita Falls ISDs, may encounter state intervention or closures due to their steady failure to improve grades over five consecutive years. A 2015 amendment allows state intervention in schools persistently failing to meet performance standards, further complicating the landscape of school accountability in Texas.
As the TEA prepares to release the updated accountability ratings, both educators and parents remain vigilant, recognizing the implications these scores hold for their respective communities.
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Additional Resources
- Houston Chronicle: 2024 Official School Ratings
- Sachsenews: TEA to Release 2024 School Accountability Ratings
- NBC DFW: TEA Releases Delayed 2022-23 School Accountability Ratings
- ABC13: Texas Education Agency Releases 2022-2023 Accountability Ratings
- KWTX: Texas Education Agency Releases 2023 Accountability Ratings
- Wikipedia: Texas Education Agency
- Google Search: Texas School Accountability Ratings
- Google Scholar: Texas School Ratings
- Encyclopedia Britannica: Education in Texas
- Google News: Texas Education Agency
