Leander ISD received a B rating, scoring 88 out of 100 possible points.
How it works
The accountability system was established during the 2017 legislative session under House Bill 22 to "provide a clear picture of how well districts and campuses are educating students," per TEA documents.
District and campus ratings are based on measures of student achievement, including state assessments, graduation rates, and college, career and military readiness outcomes.
A, B and C ratings are considered to be passing, while D and F are failing ratings.
A closer look
LISD and other school districts last received ratings for the 2021-22 school year. Some LISD campus ratings dropped from 2021-22 to 2022-23, including:
- Bagdad Elementary: C to D
- Grandview Hills Elementary: B to C
- Giddens Elementary: C to D
- Reed Elementary: B to C
- Pleasant Hill Elementary: B to C
- Glenn High School: B to C
- Block House Creek Elementary
- Larkspur Elementary
- Knox Wiley Middle School
The full list of individual campus ratings can be viewed here.
Looking back
Over 100 school districts, including Leander ISD, sued the TEA in August 2023 over concerns with the updated A-F rating system.
Districts said the new system made it "mathematically impossible" for schools to receive an A rating, and a Travis County district court judge blocked the release of the 2023 ratings in October.
However, a state appeals court overturned the injunction and ruled April 3 that the 2022-23 ratings could be released.
More districts joined another lawsuit in August 2024, saying the state had not fixed "mistakes" in the accountability system, and a judge further blocked the 2024 ratings, according to recent Community Impact reporting.
The TEA remains blocked from issuing the 2023-24 ratings, and the lawsuit is pending in the state appeals court.
What they're saying
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said the concept of "taking multiple pieces of student performance and combining them into grades" is something all schools do.
“For far too long, families, educators and communities have been denied access to information about the performance of their schools, thanks to frivolous lawsuits paid for by tax dollars filed by those who disagreed with the statutory goal of raising career readiness expectations to help students,” Morath said in an April 24 news release.
After joining the lawsuit in 2023, LISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing said doing so was an expression of the district's dedication to ensure the accountability ratings are based on a system that provides "clear signaling of improvement and success."
Community Impact reached out to LISD officials for comment on the newly released ratings and will update this story when it is received.
Looking ahead
The TEA intends to release ratings for the 2024-25 school year Aug. 15, Morath said, and expects some districts will face state intervention based on the 2023 ratings.
