Liberty Hill ISD maintained consistent ratings across the last two school years, according to the Texas Education Agency’s latest accountability ratings.
The two-minute impact
On Aug. 15, the TEA released data for its A-F accountability ratings for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. The 2024 ratings were delayed for one year after 33 districts sued the TEA last August—down from over 100 in 2023. The 2025 ratings are being released on time, per state law.
Liberty Hill ISD maintained B ratings for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 ratings, consistent with the rating the district earned for the 2022-23 school year. The ratings evaluate schools based on three main criteria:
- Overall school achievement, based on how schools performed on standardized State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, testing
- School progress, which evaluates how schools have done over time and compared to similar campuses
- Closing the gaps, which rates how well schools are ensuring that all students are kept up to academic standards
Nearly every school in the district earned a B for overall performance for both school years. The two highest-performing campuses were Bar W Elementary, which earned a 93 for 2024-25, and Rancho Sienna Elementary, which earned a 90.
Diving deeper
The TEA's rating system has been held up in litigation over the last several years. The 2023-24 scores had been blocked after 33 school districts sued the TEA, claiming that the agency unfairly raised the bar for schools to earn a high rating and didn't provide ample notice for districts to prepare. A Texas judge ruled on July 3 that the TEA could release the ratings.
During an Aug. 14 press conference, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath defended the A-F system, saying it is "immensely fair" and "an accurate reflection of how well we have supported our students." He noted that 361 high-poverty campuses statewide received an A in 2025, up from 288 in 2024.
Districts and campuses that need to create turnaround plans in the face of state intervention will have "much of this year, this fall, and then early after the Christmas break to finalize their turnaround plans," Morath said. The most extreme type of state intervention comes after five consecutive years of "academically unacceptable" ratings of D or F. But turnaround plans can come quicker—Austin ISD submitted turnaround plans after two years of failing ratings, as previously reported.
Morath said "systemic" issues like what's happening in AISD are "a problem that doesn't just happen on its own."
Hannah Norton and Chloe Young contributed to this story.
