Nearly 43% of Austin ISD campuses received a D or F rating from the Texas Education Agency in the 2022-23 school year, failing to meet state accountability standards.
The state agency publicly released its A-F accountability ratings for Texas school districts April 24. The release of the scores was stalled for two years after more than 100 school districts sued the TEA over changes to the A-F rating system.
On April 3, a state judge ruled that the TEA could release ratings for the 2022-23 school year while litigation on the 2023-24 scores is still pending. The 2024-25 school year ratings are expected to be released Aug. 15, per state law.
The new 2023 ratings come as AISD is considering closing Dobie Middle School to avoid a state takeover amid years of lower performance and failed ratings. If a campus receives a failed accountability rating five years in a row, the state could close the school or appoint a board of managers to oversee the district as it did with Houston ISD, according to the TEA.
“We know we have to do better, and we know we need to step up to meet the increase in demands, even in an imperfect system that will not capture the brilliance of all children as they go through their educational journey,” AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said at an April 24 press conference.
The update
Each school year, the TEA’s accountability system rates districts from A-F based on student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps for certain student populations, such as racial and socioeconomic groups. The ratings factor in State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores; student preparedness for college, career and military service; and graduation rates.
For the 2022-23 school year, AISD received an overall C rating of 77 out 100 compared to a B rating the year prior.
Of 114 rated campuses, AISD schools received the following scores:
- 24 received an A
- 29 received a B
- 12 received a C
- 19 received a D
- 30 received a F
School board President Lynn Boswell said the district should examine factors beyond the classroom that may be impacting students, including a lack of affordable housing and insurance. Of the district’s 73,198 students, 54.1% were Hispanic, 51.5% were economically disadvantaged, and 30.5% were emergent bilingual learners, according to the TEA.
The background
Schools have not received complete A-F ratings since 2019. Accountability ratings were not issued at all in 2020 or 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2022, schools that received a C or lower were deemed “not rated” as they recovered from pandemic-related learning loss.
In 2023, the TEA introduced a “refreshed” A-F rating system that changed how ratings were calculated. Districts argued the agency made “unlawful” changes to the system that they said would result in lower ratings despite indications that performance had improved, according to court documents.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath told reporters that some elementary and middle school campuses performed better under the redesigned system, noting that the changes better reflect “how well schools close the gaps between students and how well they're accelerating students, basically catching students up to grade level.”
AISD campuses with historically underserved students have often received points from growth on the STAAR test while the updated A-F system has focused on a student’s absolute performance, Segura said when asked about the decline in scores.
The changes raised the bar for schools to receive an A based on the college, career and military readiness of students from 60% to 88%, a 28 percentage point increase, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
What they’re saying
Segura said AISD saw “drastic swings” in its ratings. While 30 campuses received an F rating in 2023, more than half of those campuses were rated B the year prior, he said.
The TEA also published “what if” scores for the 2021-22 school year, reflecting how schools would have performed under the current accountability system.
Campus performance declined statewide between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. Of the 8,368 campuses given both 2022 “what if” scores and 2023 ratings, 44% received the same grade, 13% received a higher grade in 2023, and 43% received a lower grade in 2023, Morath said.
“This is not just happening in Austin ISD,” Boswell said. “This is a systemic reshaping of the yard stick that's used to measure our state's public schools.”
Laurie Solis, president of the Austin Council of PTAs, said she wasn’t surprised that students struggled on the redesigned STAAR that was administered online beginning in 2023.
“When I look at the most recent test results, I feel alarmed and disheartened,” Solis said. “What's alarming is that these first year [artificial intelligence]-graded results are being used as a definitive measure of learning, rather than a baseline to help students and educators adjust.”
AISD officials said the district needed state lawmakers to increase funding to meet the state’s metrics. In April, the Texas House passed legislation that would increase school funding by $7.7 billion as well as an education savings account proposal to allocate public dollars for private school tuition.
The impact
After receiving its second F rating in 2023, AISD has projected that Dobie Middle School would receive an F rating in 2024 and will not receive a rating above D in the 2024-25 school year.
To avoid state intervention, the district has proposed temporarily or permanently closing Dobie or partnering with a charter school to operate the campus. On April 17, the district notified affected families that it may consider sending Dobie students to Lamar Middle School next school year.
Going forward
In light of the scores, some additional AISD campuses now have consecutive years of failed ratings, including Webb and Burnet middle schools.
The district will be required to create turnaround plans for more campuses, Boswell said. Implementing these resource-intensive plans could place a significant strain on the district, which faces a projected $110 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2025-26, Segura said.
AISD will continue looking for academic solutions as well as leaning into community resources for students, Boswell said. AISD has focused on early childhood education, invested in instructional coaches, and allocated resources and support for campuses in need, Segura said.
“We have the ability to move the system,” Segura said. “Some of that work has to shift up, maybe take a different timeline, resource allocation may have to adjust in order to ensure that we don't get to a point where schools are at risk of state intervention.”
AISD officials have discussed consolidating schools districtwide to cut costs. The board will discuss its priorities for further school consolidations at a meeting in early May, Segura said.
Notable quote
“The more aggressive the accountability system becomes in Texas ... the more aggressive our responses have to be,” Boswell said. “It is a matter at this point of saving our district, and the threat is not theoretical. We have seen what the state did in Houston, and we cannot let that happen in our district.”
What’s next
The district received an extension to submit a turnaround plan for Dobie Middle School to the TEA by June 30, district officials said at an April 24 board meeting.
The board was previously expected to vote on its next steps for Dobie at an April 28 meeting to meet an April 30 deadline.
Hannah Norton contributed to this article.
