The ratings were released April 24 after a two-year delay. The agency could not release the ratings sooner because of a lawsuit that included more than 50 districts. Local districts joining the lawsuit included McKinney ISD, Frisco ISD, Prosper ISD, Richardson ISD and Dallas ISD.
TEA is prevented from sharing more recent school ratings from the 2023-24 school year due to a separate, ongoing lawsuit. School performance ratings from the 2024-25 school year are scheduled to be issued in August 2025.
The specifics
At MISD, 10 of its campuses received an “A” rating, 12 received a “B” rating, six received a “C” rating and one received an “F” rating. For the 2022-23 school year, 29 campuses were rated and did not include Frazier Elementary because the school did not open until the 2023-24 school year.
The district received a 85 out of 100, which is a “B” rating. This measures how much students are learning in each grade and whether or not they are ready for the next grade. It also shows how well a school or district prepares their students for success after high school in college, the workforce, or the military, according to the Texas Education Agency's website. The score is calculated based on performance in three areas including student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps.
What else?
The district scored 85 out of 100 in the student achievement domain, which measures whether students met expectations on the STAAR test. It scored 82 out of 100 in the school progress domain, which measures how students perform over time and how the district compares to other similar school districts.
McKinney ISD also scored 85 out of 100 in the closing the gap domain, which measures how well a district ensures all student groups are successful. More information and individual school ratings can be found online.
The district received a “B” rating in the 2021-22 and 2018-19 school years, with both years’ scores being 89 out of 100. Districts were not rated in 2019-20 and 2020-2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a news release from the TEA states.
The context
The A-F accountability rating system was established in 2017 by the state legislature, and the first set of ratings was issued by the TEA issued in 2018, the release states. The score calculation method was updated for the 2022-23 school year.
Ratings released in 2022 were impacted by pandemic-release learning disruptions, the release states, as well as a state law that prevented D and F ratings from being issued that year, the TEA release states.
The release of ratings for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years were delayed by legal challenges. At a Sept. 18, 2023 meeting of the McKinney ISD Board of Trustees, six board members voted to approve a resolution to join a lawsuit against the TEA over its failure to adequately notify school districts on the changes made to the way accountability ratings are calculated as well as retroactively making the changes, according to district documents. Trustee Chad Green voted against the resolution.
“I do believe that we have a responsibility to join the districts around us and in the state of Texas,” MISD Superintendent Shawn Pratt said at the Sept. 2023 meeting. “We also have a responsibility to our students who have completed a school year ... and still do not have the accountability standards for that school year set forth.”
A Travis County district court blocked the release of the ratings in September 2023. The Texas Courts of Appeals ruled in April that the 2022-23 ratings can be released.
McKinney ISD officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the released rating.
What they are saying
“At its core, existence of the A through F system in the State of Texas...is a moral belief that all children can, in fact, learn and achieve at high levels,” TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said at an April 22 news conference. “This is a goal setting process that we go through to help answer for ourselves...how well are we meeting that mission for our children?”
Samantha Douty contributed to this article.
