Georgetown ISD maintains C accountability rating; 6 campuses see improvements in 2024-25

Georgetown ISD maintained a C accountability rating that increased from 73 to 76 out of 100 from the 2023-24 to 2024-25 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

In 2024-25, six GISD campuses received higher ratings than the year prior, while nine campuses maintained their ratings. Williams Elementary and Richarte High schools received a lower rating.

The TEA released public school accountability ratings for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years Aug. 15, wrapping up a legal battle that began nearly two years prior when dozens of districts sued the agency.

A closer look

Texas schools are rated on an A-F scale based on three criteria: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Elementary and middle school ratings are largely based on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, which students begin taking in third grade, while high school ratings are based on the STAAR and indicators of readiness for college, careers and the military.

Of GISD's 17 campuses in the 2023-24 school year:

• 1 received an A
• 4 received a B
• 6 received a C
• 2 received a D
• 4 received an F

• 1 received an A
• 6 received a B
• 7 received a C
• 3 received a D
• 1 received an F

Visit www.txschools.gov to view the updated accountability ratings for K-12 districts and individual campuses.

What they’re saying

“Over the past two years, Georgetown ISD reduced the number of underperforming schools by nearly half and significantly increased the number of students reading on or above grade level,” Superintendent Devin Padavil said in a letter from the district. “Yet, it is clear there is more work to be done.”

In an interview with Community Impact, Padavil said he believes GISD must ensure all students are "held accountable to learning at high levels."

"That is our responsibility," Padavil said. "But the system for grading schools, it's hard to explain. ... If it's not easy to explain, that makes it really hard for the general public to understand how this school [is] really performing."

The impact

Districts and campuses that scored a D or F in 2023-24 or 2024-25 may receive extra resources and support from the state, according to the TEA website.

Any campuses that received two consecutive years of "unacceptable ratings" per state law, which can include an F or multiple D ratings, must develop a turnaround plan and submit it to the TEA by Nov. 14, according to a letter sent to school leaders Aug. 14.

Mitchell and Purl elementaries may be required to adopt turnaround plans based on their ratings, according to TEA information. GISD officials said the district is awaiting clarification from the TEA on which campuses may need turnaround plans.

In June, GISD adopted turnaround plans to improve outcomes at Cooper Elementary and Wagner Middle schools. The plans included hiring a new principal at Cooper as well as providing greater support for English-language learners and conducting more frequent assessments at both campuses, Padavil said.

Both Cooper and Wagner improved their ratings from an F in 2023-24 to a C in 2024-25.

"These two schools saw incredible growth,” Padavil said. “Because of that growth, we're going to basically not need a turnaround plan anymore, but we're still going to keep the work going.”

The background

State law requires that annual A-F ratings be issued by Aug. 15 of each year; however, the 2023-24 ratings were blocked for nearly one year after 33 school districts sued the TEA last August, arguing that the agency made it “mathematically impossible” for some schools to earn a high score and waited too long to notify districts about changes to the state accountability system.

One change raised the bar for schools to receive an A based on the college, career and military readiness of students from 60% to 88%, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

“Nobody knows what the bar is,” GISD school board President James Scherer said. “So it's really hard to prioritize chasing a bar that you don't know what it is and that the state is changing every few years.”

Texas' 15th Court of Appeals ruled in July that the 2023-24 ratings could be released, and the TEA later announced they would be issued alongside the 2024-25 ratings.

Ratings for the 2022-23 school year were issued April 24, after a lawsuit delayed their release for nearly two years.

In 2022-23, GISD received a C rating of 75 out of 100. Seven campuses received a D or F rating, while 10 campuses received an A, B or C.

Going forward

GISD will focus on implementing the following initiatives this upcoming school year, Padavil said:

• High-quality, aligned student tasks in which students have assignments that are appropriately challenging
• Good routines for observing and providing feedback to teachers and students
• Timely response to student data to provide early intervention for students who are struggling

“Next year, you're going to see we will have no D and F schools in Georgetown,” Padavil told Community Impact. “We're committed to it.”

Hannah Norton contributed to this article.