Texas School District Grades Released After 19-Month Legal Battle

TEA Releases 2023 School District Ratings

• 📌 After an 18-month legal battle, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has released its A-to-F ratings for school districts for the 2022-2023 school year.
• 🎯 The ratings are based on three criteria: state test performance, student improvement, and closing achievement gaps.

District Performance and Legal Challenges

• 📊 Several districts received high marks, with Frisco, Prosper, Argyle, and Capel earning A's.
• 📉 Conversely, Fort Worth, Crowley, Dotto, and Lancaster received D's, and many districts saw a noticeable decline in performance compared to previous years.
• ⚖️ Over a hundred school systems, including Fort Worth ISD, sued to block the release, arguing that benchmarks were raised significantly and implemented rapidly.

Implications and Future Actions

• ⚠️ Unacceptable ratings can lead to intervention by the TEA, potentially including closing a campus or appointing a board of managers, especially after five consecutive failing grades.
• 🗣️ TEA Commissioner Mike Morath stated the release empowers parents to compare current and past performance using the new methodology.
• ❓ When asked if the lower ratings were an effort to discredit public schools for political reasons, the commissioner denied this, stating the focus is on better lives for Texas students.
• 📝 The 2023 ratings are preliminary, and districts can appeal them before they become final in August, at which point decisions on interventions, particularly for Fort Worth ISD, will be made.