Ratings have been delayed due to an injunction that blocked the ratings for over a year. That injunction was overturned April 3 by the state's 15th Court of Appeals.
The TEA remains blocked from issuing ratings for the 2023-24 school year due to a separate lawsuit, which is pending in the state appeals court, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
During an April 22 press call, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said the TEA intends to release ratings for the 2024-25 school year Aug. 15, per state law.
A closer look
TEA’s interactive ratings database includes highlights from each NISD school's rating. Key rating metrics in the database include:
- Overall rating and score
- School progress rating and score
- Student achievement rating and score
- Closing the gaps rating and score
School progress is measured by student performance over time and by comparing districts and schools with similar economic profiles. Student achievement is primarily based on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results and graduation rates. Closing the gaps refers to a district or school's ability to ensure the success of all student groups.
While NISD wasn't involved in the lawsuit regarding the release of STAAR ratings, Superintendent Mark Foust said changing the formula for scoring after the tests have been taken is not an appropriate measure of student progress.
“A single, high-stakes test does not define the academic capabilities or progress of any student or school,” Foust said via email. “STAAR provides limited useful data, and we believe it's time the state created a new system of academic accountability that moves away from standardized testing as the focus.”
The details
NISD received an overall B rating with 89 out of 100 points for the 2021-22 school year. The state agency did not release ratings for districts and schools in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
Morath spoke about the “frivolous lawsuits” that have blocked transparency, which ultimately makes students “pay the price.”
“For far too long, families, educators and communities have been denied access to information about the performance of their schools, thanks to frivolous lawsuits paid for by tax dollars filed by those who disagreed with the statutory goal of raising career readiness expectations to help students,” Morath said.
Zooming out
According to the TEA’s statewide summary report, nearly 11% of school districts received an A rating for the 2022-23 school year. Forty percent of districts earned a B, while about 32% scored a C, 14% received a D and about 3% received an F. At the campus level, accountability ratings across the state include:
- 1,646 campuses earned an A
- 2,873 campuses scored a B
- 2,107 campuses received a C
- 1,264 campuses received a D
- 649 campuses scored an F
Morath said he expects some districts and/or campuses could face state interventions based on the 2023 ratings.
According to a TEA news release, the A–F accountability system was established as part of House Bill 22 in 2017 by the 85th Texas Legislature.
Hannah Norton contributed to this report.
