Preliminary accountability ratings for Greater Houston-area school districts and campuses were released to the public Friday, Jan. 6, following the state's new A-F rating system mandated by House Bill 2804 passed in 2015. The ratings are based on 2015-16 data and are intended only as a trial run. However, the first official ratings under the new system will be released in August 2018. The A-F system is a change from the "met standard," "met alternative standard" or "improvement required" ratings given to districts presently. Of the 16 Greater Houston-area school districts reported on by Community Impact Newspaper, all but four districts received a grade of A or B in Domain I—the first performance area—which measures student achievement. Houston ISD—the largest school district in Texas—received a grade of C in Domain I. Similarly, all but four districts received a grade of A or B in Domain II, which measures student progress. However, nine districts in the Greater Houston area received a grade of C or D in Domain III, which measures student achievement gaps. Additionally, 15 districts in the Greater Houston area—as well as Houston ISD—received a grade of C, D or F in Domain IV, which measures the percentage of graduating students prepared for college, a career or the military. Montgomery ISD is the only district in Community Impact Newspaper's Houston metro area to receive a B in Domain IV. TEA spokesperson DeEtta Culbertson previously said the A-F system will better show changes in performance. “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.” However, Martha Anne Pierson, a retired educator and Region 4 past president for the Association of Texas Professional Educators, said the new rating system is controversial because of the measures the state is using to determine district performance. "People don't feel that it deals with real life. It's artificial," she said. "[A district] may be doing everything perfectly, but because of a few of the indicators—one being student progress—if they're doing what they need to do for their [student population], they can really fall short on student progress." Pierson said the rating system is made more complex as Districts of Innovation are granted multiple exceptions to state laws, such as class size and teacher certification. These exemptions can affect the ratings Districts of Innovation receive. "We're not comparing apples to apples on all of this," Pierson said. "Districts are extremely different across the board, even in the Greater Houston area." Here is how each Greater Houston-area school district fared in each of the four domains. Alvin ISD Student achievement: C Student progress: B Closing performance gaps: D Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Alvin ISD campus here. Conroe ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Conroe ISD campus here. Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Cypress-Fairbanks ISD campus here. Fort Bend ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: C Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Fort Bend ISD campus here. Friendswood ISD Student achievement: A Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Friendswood ISD campus here. Houston ISD Student achievement: C Student progress: B Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Houston ISD campus on the TEA website. Humble ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: B Closing performance gaps: D Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Humble ISD campus here. Katy ISD Student achievement: A Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Katy ISD campus here. Klein ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: B Closing performance gaps: C Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Klein ISD campus here. Lamar CISD Student achievement: B Student progress: B Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Lamar CISD campus here. Magnolia ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: C Closing performance gaps: D Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Magnolia ISD campus here. Montgomery ISD Student achievement: B Student progress: B Closing performance gaps: C Postsecondary readiness: B View scores for each Montgomery ISD campus on the TEA website. New Caney ISD Student achievement: D Student progress: C Closing performance gaps: D Postsecondary readiness: F View scores for each New Caney ISD campus here. Pearland ISD Student achievement: A Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Pearland ISD campus here. Spring ISD Student achievement: D Student progress: C Closing performance gaps: D Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Spring ISD campus here. Tomball ISD Student achievement: A Student progress: A Closing performance gaps: B Postsecondary readiness: C View scores for each Tomball ISD campus here. Willis ISD Student achievement: C Student progress: D Closing performance gaps: D Postsecondary readiness: D View scores for each Willis ISD campus on the TEA website.