“The issuance of A-F ratings for schools has proven to be a valuable tool to support continuous improvement for our students, allowing educators, parents and the general public to better identify and expand efforts that are working for kids. But the pandemic has disrupted school operations in fundamental ways that have often been outside the control of our school leaders, making it far more difficult to use these ratings as a tool to support student academic growth," TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in the Dec. 10 release. "As a result, we will not issue A-F ratings this school year."
According to the release, STAAR results provide "critically important information" about student learning that parents and teachers use to help students grow. In addition, STAAR results this year will give education leaders and policymakers an idea of how the pandemic has affected student learning and therefore aid in making policy for the years ahead.
“The last nine months have been some of the most disruptive of our lives. The challenges have been especially pronounced for our parents, teachers and students. We continue to prioritize the health and safety of students, teachers and staff in our schools this year, while working to ensure students grow academically," Morath said in the release.
The TEA is also allowing schools flexibility to remove STAAR results as a factor for teacher evaluations this school year.
