The preliminary results for the Texas Education Agency’s new A-F accountability rating system that were published Jan. 6 have school districts across the state up in arms, especially the portion of the  ratings that measure postsecondary readiness. About 60 percent of the nearly 1,000 school districts in the state received a grade of C, D or F in that category.

Overall as a district, Georgetown ISD received C’s and D’s in the first three domains and received a D in Domain IV. Only Richarte High School and Ford and Village
elementary schools received an A in any category but still received B’s and C’s in Domain IV.

At its Jan. 17 school board meeting, the GISD board of trustees approved a resolution calling on the Texas Legislature to repeal the rating system and allow school districts to create their own system that still aligns with state requirements.

GISD Superintendent Fred Brent addressed the rating system at the same meeting.

“As a superintendent of schools, a father and an educator, I have a lot of challenges with this A-F accountability system,” Brent said. “This type of testing is not a true measure of student learning, and we do not believe it is the thing that should drive our district. We do want to be accountable, but we struggle with this measure.”

In a Senate Finance Committee hearing held Jan. 24, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath said he has heard “buckets” of feedback regarding the A-F system. He said there has been a small, quiet group in support of the evaluation, but a
multitude of others had louder criticism.

Morath said although three of the categories, or domains, within the new rating system have clear metrics, the domain that measures postsecondary readiness is a “strange mix of remaining qualifiers that don’t necessarily fit well together.”

The new rating system is required by House Bill 2804, which was passed during the 2015 legislative session. The bill required the TEA to present an informational report to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2017.

The A-F system will replace the current accountability system that simply states whether school districts met standards under certain performance indicators. The A-F rating system, which will be fully implemented in 2018, will give districts and their campuses an overall grade of A, B, C, D or F as well as an individual grade in five domains: Student Achievement, Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, Postsecondary Readiness, and Community and Student Engagement.

The results published Jan. 6 only measured the first four domains and reflect a system that is a work in progress, TEA spokesperson Lauren Callahan said.

Calculating Domain IV

Domain IV looks at three variables at the high school level to measure postsecondary readiness: the graduation rate, the percentage of students graduating with a higher-level graduation plan, and college and career readiness.

To measure college and career readiness, several indicators are considered, including SAT and ACT scores, postsecondary credits earned and how many students took Advanced Placement courses. The indicators that were not measured for the preliminary ratings but will be used in the final ratings in 2018 include the number of students who enlisted in the armed forces and the number of students who earned an industry certification.

College readiness

The problem with determining whether students are ready for college-level courses is that there is no common definition for college readiness, said Raymund Paredes, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board commissioner of higher education.

“There’s a great variance in what might be college readiness at a community college and what might be college readiness at [The University of Texas] or Texas A&M University,” Paredes said.

According to The College Board, nearly 32 percent of Texas students in the class of 2015 met the SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmark.

GISD officials said that in 2016 its students had an average ACT score of 23, which was 3.7 points higher than the state’s average, and an average composite score on the SAT of 1026, outperforming the state’s average of 944.

Suzanne Marchman, GISD spokesperson, said the district has been and will continue to be working toward postsecondary readiness.

“We believe that it’s our responsibility to prepare students for their future,” Marchman said. “Even before the state launched its ratings under the new system, GISD has been taking steps to improve postsecondary readiness.”

Marchman said the district is launching a college- and career-ready platform to help align student strengths with postsecondary and career goals starting in sixth grade as well as beginning graduation planning in seventh grade and informing parents about the benefits of taking advanced and dual-credit courses.

“While we know we still have work to do, we also believe that A-F is a flawed accountability system,” Marchman said.  “Our beliefs and strategic plan drive our actions, yet our grade is not reflective of our performance.”

Next steps

Despite the fact that school districts across the state are seeking to repeal the A-F rating system, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said A-F will not be repealed or replaced. State legislators seem poised to move forward with the new system.

Some bills that have been filed in this legislative session either add more indicators to Domain IV or slightly change the wording in the Texas Education Code for the accountability system.

In a statement, state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, who sponsored HB 2804, said the new system is not going away.

“Students and parents deserve a grading system that helps individual students, their campuses and districts transparently measure academic success and clearly delineate where improvements are needed,” Taylor said.

Emily Donaldson contributed to this story.