The Texas Education Agency released 2026 A-F accountability ratings Aug. 14, giving Austin ISD a 'B' districtwide, with a score of 81—the district's highest mark in four years. Burnet and Webb Middle Schools each earned a fifth consecutive 'F', triggering state action, while Dobie Middle School, which had four consecutive 'F' ratings, scored a 'D', per TEA data.
Austin ISD is the only district that may be subject to state intervention based on the 2026 ratings, according to Community Impact reporting.
Under state law, a fifth consecutive failing rating at a single campus requires the education commissioner to either close that campus or replace the district's elected board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers.
The gist
Austin ISD scored 77 last year, according to TEA. Moving a district the size of Austin ISD, even one point, takes significant work, Superintendent Matias Segura said during an Aug. 13 board information session.
Statewide, 85% of campuses received a 'C' rating or higher this year, and 24% of Texas districts improved on their 2024-25 rating, per Community Impact reporting.
By the numbers
Austin ISD's 2026 results, per TEA data:
- 61 campuses rated 'A' or 'B', up from 47 last year
- 35 campuses improved a full letter grade
- 3 campuses improved by 20 points or more
- 8 campuses broke their accountability chain
In 2024, the district had more 'D' and 'F' campuses than 'A' and 'B' campuses, according to TEA data. This year, 'A' and 'B' campuses outnumber 'D' and 'F' roughly two to one.
Several high-poverty campuses achieved multiyear gains, according to TEA data. Austin High School earned an A, and Bedichek Middle School earned a 'C' during consolidation. Middle school performance has been a challenge for Austin ISD for most of the past decade, Segura said at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Adjusting for school closures, Austin ISD starts next year with 57 'A' and 'B' campuses and 25 'D' and 'F' campuses, according to district officials at the meeting.
What parents should know
Trustee Candace Hunter asked Segura to explain what a "pause" means for families whose campuses are on the accountability clock, during the Aug. 13 information session.
A school that climbs out of failing scores but stays below a 'C' pauses its clock without resetting it and has three years to clear it, Segura said at the meeting. Any 'C' or better breaks the chain and restarts the count, he said.
Three consecutive 'D' ratings count the same as an F, Hunter said, meaning a campus can improve and still be at risk.
"We are growing in inches, not yards," she said.
What’s changed
Austin ISD recently closed 11 schools. Seven of the 10 campuses included in the district's original November closure vote had received three consecutive 'F' ratings, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
A new TEA rule effective Aug. 16 will make closing a struggling campus a less effective way to avoid state action, according to Community Impact reporting. Under the rule, a shuttered 'D'- or 'F'-rated campus passes its rating history to the receiving school unless a plurality of its students land at an 'A-' or 'B'-rated campus.
The rule spares schools that have already closed, per TEA, provided the agency has accepted the closure.
Because the TEA has not accepted the closure of Pardes Middle School, the turnaround plan and accountability chain transfer to Bailey Middle School, Segura said at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Hunter said she wanted the public to understand the district is not running "just a shell game" by hiding students in high-performing schools. Segura agreed, saying Austin ISD tracks students individually and the accountability chain follows them.
The cost
Austin ISD paid for third-party rescores over the summer for students who landed near a benchmark, Segura said at the Aug. 13 board session. About 20% came back higher, and some of those moved a campus rating.
The district spent an estimated $200,000-$300,000, district staff said at the meeting. TEA charges $50 per rescore that does not change a student's score.
Trustee Arati Singh said districts with thinner budgets may not be able to buy the same second look.
Quote of note
“This year’s A-F ratings illustrate the progress Texas public schools are making and acknowledge the hard work of our educators while illuminating areas of needed improvement to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality education,” Morath said in an Aug. 14 release.
What's next
Districts have through Sept. 11 to appeal individual scores, and Commissioner Mike Morath will respond to those appeals and finalize all ratings by Dec. 11, per TEA's 2026 appeals timeline.
Austin ISD has not said whether it will appeal the Burnet or Webb ratings.
Campuses that received a first D or F must submit a targeted improvement plan to TEA by Nov. 20, per agency guidance sent to districts Aug. 13. Campuses with two consecutive unacceptable ratings owe turnaround plans by the same date. Individual campuses will share results with families by Aug. 22, Segura said at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Families can look up any Texas campus at www.txschools.gov. The Austin ISD board meets next Aug. 27.
Community Impact will continue to cover the accountability situation at AISD as the story develops.
