The Texas Education Agency has released new A-F grades for school districts. Some school leaders call the new rating system misleading. They say the letter grades simplify a complex issue.
Every year, the state grades school districts, schools and charters, but this is the first time it issued letter grades, replacing the previous pass/fail system.
Individual schools won’t receive a letter grade until next school year. For now, they're graded on the pass/fail ratings system. For example, struggling schools receive a rating of “improvement required,” while schools that meet the state's mininum standards receive a “met standard” rating.
KERA’s Stella Chávez and Bill Zeeble have been reporting on the new ratings. They joined Eric Aasen for this week's Friday Conversation to talk about how some North Texas districts fared, and how school leaders are reacting.
Interview Highlights
How the Dallas Independent School District earned a B
Bill Zeeble: Those who view the Dallas school district negatively might have wondered, "How did that happen?" And Superintendent Michael Hinojosa was initially confused, too. But as he pointed out, the overall grade is based on a few categories. The Texas Education Agency explains the categories carry different weights. So, for example there's the "Student Achievement" and the "School Progress" categories. The state only counts the better score of those two, and that score makes up 70 percent of the grade. Then there's the "Closing the Gap" category, and that's another 30 percent. Dallas also surprised people because urban districts typically don't fare too well in these statewide accountability ratings.
"Dallas also surprised people because urban districts typically don't fare too well in these statewide accountability ratings."
On the state of the Fort Worth Independent School District
Stella Chávez: Fort Worth ISD got a C. The number of campuses that are rated "improvement required" dropped to 11. That's down from 24 schools rated IR four years ago. Two chronically failing schools, John T. White Elementary and Maude Logan Elementary, both of those schools are now off the IR list. If both of those schools had not gotten off the IR list, the district faced a possible state takeover.
How some of the low-performing schools that have turned around
Stella Chávez: The schools I followed in the spring did much better. All of them came off the "improvement required" list. That's Wimbish Elementary in Arlington ISD, and Mitchell Boulevard and John T. White Elementaries in Fort Worth ISD. Both of those [Fort Worth] schools are now leadership academies. The district poured a lot of extra resources into those schools, they're paying teachers more, and they've also extended the school day. But they all still have some work to do.
Learn more
- To see how your school district and school rated, you can visit the state’s new accountability website.
- In the spring, KERA reported on failing schools in North Texas and their efforts to turn themselves around. Explore our series "The Race To Save Failing Schools."
Interview responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
