Updated 5:22 p.m., Aug. 16 Pearland ISD has sent out a press release providing more explanation regarding the district's B rating. The district scored a B in the Closing the Gaps category, due to 10 students at one of the district's schools not scoring well on the Algebra 1 exam. The school serves students with significant educational or disciplinary challenges, Superintendent John Kelly said in the press release. "Some might argue that basing an entire letter reduction on the performance of 10 students out of 21,000 students is unfair," Kelly said in a press release. "However, we believe the current A-F system is fairer than past accountability systems and though presently imperfect, it reminds us that 'every student counts' and thus we must redouble our efforts to ensure the grade we get is the grade we deserve." Published at 11:57 a.m., Aug. 15 Pearland ISD received a score of 89, or a B rating, in the Texas Education Agency's 2018-19 accountability ratings. This is a drop from last year's 94, or A rating. The score is based on a combination of three categories: Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps. Student Achievement measures how much students know and are able to do by the end of the year. In this category, PISD received an A this year, as it did last year. The higher score between Student Achievement and school progress is used to determine the overall rating. PISD also received an A in School Progress, or the measure of how students perform over time and how that growth compares to similar schools. The district received a B in this category last year. The Closing the Gaps category, or a measure of how well different populations of students are performing, makes up 30% of the overall score. Last year, PISD received an A in this category; this year, it received a B. Interested in how area districts performed? Read about Alvin ISD and Friendswood ISD ratings.