A lawsuit filed earlier this week stopped the Texas Education Agency’s release of A-F school grades, which had been due out Thursday. But districts already have the STAAR test data those grades are predominantly based on, and some are releasing the numbers themselves.
Dallas ISD on Thursday said its preliminary scores show the number of high schools in the district “with A and B grades almost doubling compared to internal calculations for 2023 ratings."
Dallas ISD also said it expects no failing high schools and the most in the A-C range since 2022.
“Our Board of Trustees values transparency and accountability in how the district is performing, which is why we are releasing these internal calculations,” Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said in a release on the district’s website.
Miguel Solis, president of the Commit Partnership, a Dallas-based education non-profit, urged districts this week to release A-F data despite the lawsuit. But, he cautioned, comparisons to previous grades must be fair.
“Any scores released this year can't be compared to previous scores, because it's not an apples to apples comparison,” he told reporters during a webinar Wednesday. “This is really a fresh slate for them to be able to set a baseline on.”
Solis said new criteria were established for this year’s grades after last year’s A-F results were also postponed following a separate lawsuit.
The TEA’s newest STAAR test is described as more rigorous, with new scores for determining A-F ratings.
Dallas ISD said it expects a C this year with a score of 79 compared to last year’s 76. Its last grade was a B.
The district also knows schools will receive D and F grades.
“No one is putting their heads in the sand,” said school board president Joe Carreon. “There’s lots and lots of work to do, but I want to applaud everyone who is doing the work.”
Dallas, the state’s second largest district, followed the lead of Houston ISD, the state’s biggest school district. It released its A-F grades last week.
In North Texas, Dallas was joined by Garland ISD, which also released its projections Thursday after getting approval from the TEA.
Overall, the district expects a B grade, and boasted three of its seven high schools are now rated an overall A compared to the last rating, when only one school earned that grade.
The district also cited an academic gain in Algebra1 of 22 points compared to a statewide gain of four points.
But some schools are struggling, and Garland ISD mentioned a “targeted support plan implemented to support those campuses.”
“I am incredibly proud of our district and teachers,” school board president Robert Selders, Jr. said, “but we recognize there is still a lot of work to do.”
Meanwhile, other districts are declining to release their calculations, at least for now. Fort Worth ISD told KERA it won’t release its scores because of the lawsuit, but a spokesperson said the district has “successfully moved more campuses to A, B, and C ratings, while also reducing the number of D and F schools.”
Richardson ISD said it won’t release its scores until the TEA can share statewide results.
Bill Zeeble is KERA’s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X @bzeeble.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
