On April 24, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) released complete accountability results for Texas public schools and districts for the first time in over five years. The results from the 2022-23 school year were delayed in their release due to a lawsuit following TEA changes to college readiness metrics. The 2023-24 results are still delayed due to a separate lawsuit. The results reflect these changed metrics and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as one in five schools received an F or D rating, and the number of F-rated schools increased by 233 percent.
“When they first changed the accountability standards, instead of letting us know before the school year started, they notified us in November,” academic director Kaylin Brett said. “It was kinda like, how do we suppose to fix it? We are seeing a lot of growth in many areas, but the increased standard isn’t showing that growth currently.”
In the 2017 legislative session, House Bill 22 established the TEA rating system to asses education performance. School districts and their campuses are rated on an A-F scale based on three categories: student achievement, school progress, and closing the gaps. Student achievement is measured through student performance on state standardized tests and college and career readiness. School progress is measured by how much students improve on state tests, such as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The grading comes in two sections, 70 percent of it comes from the higher of the two scores. The remaining thirty percent comes from the ‘Closing the gaps’ category, which measures how much schools improve scores for disadvantaged groups.
“At Bowie, we have the luxury of having pretty good test scores, but I think individual students who maybe are looking for a less traditional way to approach their future will have to focus on test prep,” English teacher Jacob Morgan said. “It’s also going to put more pressure on the kids that don’t do well in a standardized way of learning. It goes against everything I think is important as a teacher. I think it’s also scary that they’re raising these standards as we face school closures across our district. It feels like they are pulling a rug out from under these schools and throwing them into chaos.”
Bowie dropped from an A to a B, receiving an overall numeric score 87. Bowie also scored a B in all three categories. Within the student achievement category, Bowie earned a 93 in STAAR performance, a 79 in college career and military readiness, and a 95 for its graduation rate. Bowie scored an 85 in closing the gaps, making up 30 percent of its score.
“We anticipated a B from the scores released a few years ago regarding accountability standards. It had to do with the fact that the finish line became harder to achieve,” Brett said. “It became harder to achieve an A on almost every single account, especially in college career and military readiness, because it used to be a footnote, and it’s not anymore. To bridge the gap created, we made some changes regarding the number of Advanced Placement and Career and Technical Education courses we offer.”
Austin Independent School District (AISD) dropped from a B rating to a C, receiving an overall numeric score of 77. AISD scored a 78 in student achievement and a 74 in school progress. AISD scored a 73 in closing the gaps. Over 40 percent of AISD campuses received either a F or D rating.
“The rating that the district got as a whole doesn’t affect our campus,” Brett said. “It affects the campuses that got an F rating because it shows the district that they need to provide intervention and more resources to those schools.”
In 2023, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath changed college and career readiness metrics to require schools to have at least 88 percent of their seniors enroll in college, enter a career, or join the military to earn an A. The benchmark was previously 60 percent. Further, scores may have been affected by the STAAR being redesigned to be administered entirely online and having fewer multiple-choice questions. This is causing teachers, like Morgan, to have to pivot the way they teach.
“I think the digital platform is and can be helpful for students; things have been a little less frantic since the STAAR switched to digital,” Morgan said. “I think the way I teach a class for the test will change. It’s going to affect the way I approach writing. It’s a little more writing-based since it’s moved to the digital platform, I’m trying to teach students a more overarching way of writing so they know how to handle it. It’s going to be harder to be super formulaic.”
According to The Texas Tribune, on May 6, House Bill 4 was passed unanimously in the Texas House of Representatives, which aims to overhaul standardized testing throughout Texas public schools. The Senate also has a proposed bill that would overhaul standardized testing, but it differs from the House bill. Both would change standardized testing throughout public schools by eliminating the STAAR tests and implementing three tests at the school year’s beginning, middle, and end. How they measure success through those tests and when they would be implemented differ between the bills. Instead of measuring academic performance on a rigid scale, the House bill would compare scores to peers nationwide. The Senate bill would continue to evaluate performance on a rigid scale to ensure grade-level expectations are met.
“There are always a lot of opinions on testing, and it’s great for us to have information on how well our students are receiving information and our teachers are giving it,” Brett said. “If the STAAR test goes away and they add in these tests, it will be more stressful for students. We already have what we call ‘short cycle assessments’ that are every nine weeks in these STAAR classes, to see who needs extra support. If a first-year student maintains all four test subjects like Biology, English 1, algebra 1, and geography, they are already very stressed out and having these big tests could worsen that stress.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY Sara Fowler
