A school district receives a B rating for “recognized performance,” meaning the district has served “many” students well and encourages high academic achievement and growth according to TEA standards.
The 2022-23 TEA ratings, using new scoring methodology compared to previous years, have bumped up the score number required to receive higher ratings.
The 2022-23 ratings were released April 24 following a state court decision that allowed for the publication of the scores following litigation that started in 2023. Over 100 Texas school districts, including Hays CISD, joined a lawsuit to prevent the release of the ratings due to concerns over a mid-year change in how the ratings were calculated, as previously reported by Community Impact.
HCISD scores explained
TEA ratings analyze three different categories—student achievement, school progress and “Closing the Gaps.”
Student achievement looks at performances such as STAAR testing, graduation rates and pathways after graduation called College, Career and Military Readiness. HCISD received a C rating for student achievement, scoring 77 out of 100 points.
HCISD received 57% total credit for CCMR criteria, which looks at criteria such as standardized test scores, how many students earned college credit or earned an associates degree, and more. The new 2022-23 methodology changed the requirement to receive an A from 60% to 88% total credit, which was applied after the class of 2023 graduated. View the TEA’s HCISD student achievement breakdown here.
The HCISD 2022-23 school progress rating came in at a B with 80 out of 100 points. This category measures how students perform over time and how HCISD compares to previous years and similar school districts. About 68% of district students made at least one year of academic progress. An estimated 42% of students who were behind academically made at least one year of academic progress, according to the TEA.
Compared to other schools, the district received a C rating for school progress, indicating that the district serves students well but needs to improve, according to the TEA. View the school progress breakdown here.
HCISD scored 79 out of 100 points for “Closing the Gaps,” resulting in a C rating for this category. “Closing the Gaps” measures how a district works to “close the gaps” between different student demographics. Both African American and Hispanic students had lower percentages of student success compared to the 51% district average. View the “Closing the Gaps” breakdown here.
While the district receives an overall, the TEA also rates individual campuses. Four HCISD campuses received A ratings, 10 received B ratings, eight received C ratings and three received D ratings. View the campus ratings here.
HCISD Superintendent Eric Wright said that the performance rating of a school campus can be impacted by the percentage of economically disadvantaged students.
“Economically disadvantaged kids...haven’t had the opportunities that kids that have money experienced and so they start off behind,” he said. “It doesn’t mean they’re not capable, it just means they start off behind.”
Wright said that because the STAAR test included writing for the first time, that also impacted student performances as it can be challenging for students, he said.
Additionally, because the ratings are from the 2022-23 academic year, they are from a time when the district was coming out of the COVID-19 and dealing with academic losses in subjects such as math, he said.
Previous HCISD ratings
Because the 2022-23 ratings use different methodology, previous years are not exact comparisons. However, based on TEA calculations, if the 2021-22 used the new methodology, HCISD would have scored a B with 83 out of 100 points. The original 2021-22 rating with the old scoring system came at a B with 87 points.
Academic years 2020-21 and 2019-20 were not rated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HCISD received a B rating for academic year 2018-19, scoring 84 out of 100 points.
Statewide ratings
Following the new methodology, about 11% of 1,198 total school districts statewide received an A rating for the 2022-23 school year. Around 40% of districts received B ratings, 32% scored C ratings, 14% received D ratings and about 3% received F ratings, according to the TEA 2022-23 summary.
Campus specific, 1,646 campuses earned an A, 2,873 received a B, 2,107 scored a C, 1,264 received a D and 649 campuses across the state received an F, according to the TEA 2022-23 summary.
What’s next
Wright said that the district has made progress since the 2022-23 ratings using their own data on student performances. The district focuses on supporting students through initiatives such as peer tutoring and curriculum based assessments to see where students are at academically.
“We’re much improved from where we were, so we’re shooting for that A,” he said.
TEA A-F ratings for academic year 2023-24 are currently blocked from publishing, pending another lawsuit currently in the state appeals court.
Hannah Norton contributed to this reporting.
