The Texas Education Agency announced it will delay the release of this year’s A-F ratings, which were scheduled to go out Sept. 28, by around a month to allow the agency to reconsider some of its proposed changes to the accountability system.
Posted Sept. 8, 10:11 a.m.
Leander ISD officials discussed how changes to the state’s A-F accountability rating system might affect the district’s rating this year at a Sept. 7 board of trustees meeting.
The district will likely maintain its B rating overall; however, some campus ratings could decrease based on projections from last year’s data, said Brenda Cruz, LISD director of assessment and academic measures.
The background
The Texas Education Agency’s accountability rating system gives school districts and campuses a score from A-F depending on student achievement, school progress and closing the gap for certain student populations, such as racial and socioeconomic groups.
The ratings measure student achievement through STAAR scores, student preparedness for college, career and military service, and graduation rates.
Current situation
On Sept. 28, the state will release this year's A-F ratings based on a "refreshed" accountability system that has changed how scores are calculated.
“It is possible that a campus with an A rating in 2022 may actually improve in 2023 but actually have a B rating,” Cruz said.
As the TEA said this year’s ratings will not be comparable to last year's, the agency will also publish how a district would've performed in 2022 under the new standards.
While Leander ISD would maintain a B rating, almost 20% of campuses would receive a lower letter grade when looking at data from last year, she said.
"We are faring certainly better than the state overall average on that," Cruz said.
Here’s how LISD's current campus ratings would be impacted by the revised system:
- 72% of campuses would stay the same.
- 19% of campuses would decrease.
- 9% of campuses would increase.
The following are some of the most notable changes to how this year’s ratings will be calculated, Cruz said.
- A higher score is required to receive an A rating for college, carer and military readiness.
- A redesigned STAAR assessment changed how students were tested.
- Adjustments were made to which student populations can contribute points.
- A campus’s impact on a district’s overall rating is proportional to its size.
“Will we look at this information as it is released at the end of this month? Yes. Are we waiting to make decisions about our students' needs and their strengths? No,” Cruz said. “Regardless of if it says an A or a B, that's not changing what we do to instruct.”
Stay tuned
A-F ratings for the 2022-23 school year will be released Sept. 28 at www.txschools.gov.
