Scores for the 2022-23 school year will be released Sept. 28, following months of revisions to the accountability system.
What is the A-F system?
The A-F accountability system was established during the 2017 legislative session, under House Bill 22. State law requires the framework to improve student performance; eliminate gaps in achievement based on race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status; and ensure Texas is a national leader in preparing students for success after graduation.
Ratings are based on a variety of factors, including the annual State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness; academic growth; high school graduation rates; and how prepared students are for college, a career or the military.
What is changing?
Seven elements of the accountability system are changing this year:
- Updating cut points and targets
- Revising college, career and military readiness indicators
- Improving evaluation of student growth
- Increasing focus on at-risk students
- Enhancing district ratings
- Better serving students on alternate paths
- Boosting public transparency
The TEA also redesigned the STAAR in 2023 “to better align with classroom instruction” following the passage of HB 3906 in 2019. The exams were administered almost exclusively online in 2023 and focused on writing, officials said.
“Working with the input of many Texas teachers, we have redesigned the STAAR test to look more like how students learn in the classroom,” TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in a news release. “We celebrate these results, and also recognize they provide objective information for parents and educators for the year to come.”
STAAR scores for high schoolers were released June 30. Scores for grades three to eight will be available Aug. 16.Why are the changes being made?
Morath said parents and educators will have a more holistic view of student performance under the updated accountability system. Major changes to the system have not been made since 2017.
The updates tackle gaps that were revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morath said. The revised system also focuses more on students in need and better aligns the performance of individual schools to their district.
Updating cut points and targets
Performance indicators were updated to reflect where students and schools are “in the first year coming out of COVID[-19],” Morath said.
For example, college, career and military readiness scores have improved by 38% across Texas since 2017. Roughly 47% of high school graduates in 2017 were prepared for their future endeavors, while 65% of graduates met the preparedness criteria in 2022.
“This is an untold success story,” Morath said.
The updated accountability system will include changes to every objective but the STAAR.
Revising college, career and military readiness indicators
Over the next four years, the TEA will implement new workforce certification requirements. Morath said there will be a greater emphasis on hands-on experience rather than just course completion.
For example, a student who takes welding classes in high school will gain real-life experience in welding and receive an industry certification.
Improving evaluation of student growth
To give more attention to students who are performing below their grade level, the TEA added a new growth indicator called “accelerated instruction.” The updated system also allows officials to accurately measure the performance of students who switch the language they take tests in—such as Spanish to English—between years.
“We [will] have a more holistic evaluation of student growth year-over-year,” Morath said.
Increasing focus on at-risk students
“We're making a variety of calculation changes to make sure that when we are evaluating the sort of gaps between different student groups, we're concentrating on the student groups that are most at risk,” Morath said.
In past years, officials evaluated the academic performance of each student group — including racial and ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged students, students taking special education classes and more. This year, indicators will focus on the performance of the two “lowest-performing,” or most at risk, groups.
Enhancing district ratings
Morath said each district was previously evaluated “by taking all the kids in the district as if it is a single K-12 campus.” This meant district ratings were based heavily on the performance of high school seniors, whose graduation and postsecondary readiness are measured.
This September, district ratings will be calculated with a weighted average for each campus, giving each school a balanced share in the overall district score.
Better serving students on alternate paths
Officials adjusted performance indicators to better account for students on alternative paths, such as those enrolled in dropout recovery schools. These schools help students who have dropped out of school get back on track and graduate.
According to the Texas Public Charter Schools Association, 13% of charter schools and 2% of traditional public schools have dropout recovery programs.
Dropout rates will no longer count against overall campus performance. Instead, the updated system will “maximize incentives” to help at-risk students.
Boosting public transparency
Ratings for campuses and districts are posted online annually, but the TEA is expanding the amount of information that will be publicly available this year.
Texans will be able to access data on attendance and absenteeism, advanced learning programs, and more, Morath said. This is meant to provide a greater overview of district efforts to “adopt evidence-based systems [and] programs that lead to improved outcomes,” according to the TEA.
