A provisional set of accountability ratings based on the Texas Education Agency's new A-F rating system for the state's school districts and campuses will be released Jan. 6. Austin ISD, following in the footsteps of school districts across Texas, called upon state legislators to repeal the new ratings on Monday with a resolution detailing the system's various flaws. AISD board President Kendall Pace said the preliminary ratings will only serve to complicate an already vague system. "Giving preliminary ratings that are subject to change is confusing for the public, as well as getting multiple letter grades versus just one, which may or may not be fairer," she said. The A-F ratings are a change from the “met standard,” “met alternative standard,” and “improvement required” ratings given to school districts and campuses in previous years. “The current system is either you make standard or you need improvement. There’s no in-between,” TEA spokesperson DeEtta Culbertson said. Pace cited similar systems adopted by states such as Virginia that she said have not been successful. She also bemoaned a lack of details concerning how ratings will be calculated. "While this was touted as a school improvement measure, we don’t see that this has been the effective lever in states that have adopted it," she said. "We want accountability and clarity, and I believe it is beneficial to have a statewide comparison measure, but the devil is in the details that no one knows." According to TEA, the new rating system measures year-over-year district and student performance beyond State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, results. This system will officially be implemented in the 2017-18 academic year, reflecting district and student performance in the 2016-17 academic year. Pace said it is unclear how the new ratings compare to the old system. "We don’t know how this new system will be formed or scored," she said. "Currently 94 percent of Texas school districts and 88 percent of schools are rated 'met standard,' with the remaining being 'improvement required' or not rated. Is 'met standard' the equivalent of A-C ratings? Some districts have developed their own local accountability ratings, something we have talked about doing in Austin ISD." Culbertson said a district’s performance may fluctuate from year to year. However, under the existing system, the change in performance may not be enough to trigger a change in rating, such as “improvement required.” “With [the A-F] rating, you’ll be able to see the actual growth [and] how well districts have actually done,” she said. “It will give more transparency to the system and also provide a better overview of how campuses and districts are doing.” According to the TEA, districts and campuses will receive a rating of A, B, C, D or F in each of five domains and for overall performance. “There’s five domains that look at student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps, postsecondary readiness, and community and student engagement,” Culbertson said. According to a Dec. 1 statement from the commissioner of education, indicators measuring performance include STAAR scores, graduation rate, dropout rate, postsecondary readiness, graduation plan rate, attendance, enrollment in a higher education preparation course, and community and student engagement. Pace, along with other AISD trustees, such as Paul Saldaña, said the state should prioritize funding as a measure to increase school performance, rather than muddying the waters with a new accountability system. "This one change won’t drive school improvement, especially if not followed up with more education funding and more local political will to demand high quality and equity," she said. The new rating system will be applied to each school district and campus based on 2015-16 data as a trial run. This data will be released to the public by Jan. 6. However, the first official ratings under the A-F system will not be released until August 2018.