Across the state, most school districts and campuses maintained or improved their A-F ratings between the 2023-24 to 2024-25 school years. Of Texas' 1,208 school districts, 24% received a higher rating, while 64% kept the same rating and 12% received a lower rating, TEA data shows.
Thirty-one percent of the 9,084 public school campuses received a higher grade in 2025. Meanwhile, 55% received the same grade and 15% received a lower grade. The TEA said that 757 campuses grew from a B or lower in 2024 to an A in 2025.
“Year over year, our schools have gotten better across the state for our kids,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told reporters Aug. 14.
The background
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 how well students are prepared for success after graduation.
State law requires that annual A-F ratings be issued by Aug. 15 of each year; however, the 2024 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.
Texas' 15th Court of Appeals ruled in July that the 2024 ratings could be released, and the TEA later announced they would be issued alongside the 2025 ratings.
“Millions of dollars and thousands of hours of work by teachers, administrators and experts have been invested in creating the A-F ratings system; courts can decide only whether it is legal, not whether it is wise or fair, much less commandeer the job of running it,” Chief Justice Scott Brister wrote in the ruling.
Ratings for the 2022-23 school year were issued April 24, after a lawsuit delayed their release for nearly two years.
Morath said issuing annual A-F ratings helps “our students do better academically,” adding that while the TEA won the two lawsuits challenging the school accountability system, “the parents lost.”
“Telling a parent today how well their school did in 2024 doesn't help them with the supports they need to provide their kid [now],” he told reporters. “It is great now to have this tool back to help support our families [and] also support our educators, because educators use this information to build stronger action plans so that they can improve schools in the following year.”
Zooming in
TEA data shows that in 2025:
- 2,023 campuses earned an A
- 3,005 campuses received a B
- 2,106 campuses scored a C
- 918 campuses received a D
- 389 campuses earned an F
Morath said the ratings should not come as a surprise to school districts, which have had access to raw data for the 2023-24 school year since last August and received ratings for both school years on Aug. 13. Some districts, including Conroe ISD, used state data to calculate and release their own 2024 ratings amid the legal battle.
“The districts themselves should not be surprised about what those ratings are, but it is now public for the first time,” Morath said. “State law requires you to improve [struggling] campuses, and we know that's what administrators are doing all over the state.”
For more details about how local school districts performed, visit www.communityimpact.com/education or subscribe to local newsletters.
The impact
Districts and campuses that scored a D or F in 2024 or 2025 may receive extra resources and support from the state, according to the TEA website. Under state law, if at least one campus in a school district receives a failing grade for five consecutive years, the commissioner of education is required to close that campus or appoint a board of managers. Houston ISD has been led by a board of managers since June 2023, and the state takeover was recently extended until June 2027.
Austin ISD adopted turnaround plans to restart Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools in June by hiring new administrators and teachers following years of low performance. Those campuses received their fourth consecutive F ratings in 2025, according to the TEA.
At each campus, 86% or more of students are economically disadvantaged and at least 72% or more are English language learners, according to AISD data.
Any campus that received a D or an F—which is considered “unacceptable” under state law—in both 2024 and 2025 must develop a turnaround plan and submit it to the TEA by Nov. 14, according to a letter sent to school leaders Aug. 14. Campuses with three or more consecutive “unacceptable” ratings must also develop turnaround plans or proceed with existing plans.
Regardless of a student’s socioeconomic background, Morath said he believes “all children can learn and achieve at high levels” with proper support from adults at their campuses. Statewide, 361 “high-poverty” campuses, at which at least 80% of students use federal meal assistance, received an A in 2025, he told reporters.
“Poverty is not destiny,” Morath said. “You have schools all over the state that have some truly challenging circumstances that they are helping students overcome.”
One more thing
Texas lawmakers have been working on legislation that could make it harder for school districts to sue the TEA over the accountability system.
During Texas’ first special legislative session of the year, which was set to end Aug. 15, state senators advanced a plan to overhaul standardized testing, adjust the A-F system and prohibit most taxpayer-funded lawsuits challenging the accountability ratings. However, with dozens of House Democrats out of state to protest a congressional redistricting effort, no bills reached the governor’s desk.
A second legislative overtime with the same agenda was set to begin as soon as Aug. 15.
