Texas released its new round of academic accountability ratings, with overall public school performance remaining relatively flat. The A-F ratings are designed to provide families a tool to evaluate how well schools educate their children.
How Schools Are Graded
Texas grades districts and campuses on an A-F scale based on three categories: student achievement, school progress, and closing the gaps. Student achievement measures how well students perform on state tests and whether they are prepared for life after high school. School progress measures how much students improve on state tests. Closing the gaps measures how much progress schools make in boosting scores for specific groups of children, such as those with disabilities and English learners.
Of more than 9,000 campuses, 24% scored an A, 34% scored a B, 23% scored a C, 10% scored a D, and 4% scored an F. Schools with five consecutive F ratings trigger a state law requiring Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to either close the campus or replace the entire district’s elected trustees and superintendent.
Critics argue that the ratings can lead to district takeovers, which often affect predominantly low-income, Hispanic, and Black schools. Supporters of the accountability system say the ratings help state officials hold district leaders accountable for not concentrating enough on student learning.
Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
