TEA releases 2022-2023 A-F school accountability ratings

The Texas Education Agency released A-F accountability ratings last week for districts from the 2022-2023 school year, with Graham ISD receiving an overall rating of C and Newcastle ISD receiving an overall rating of A.

State law requires annual A-F performance rating for Texas public schools, with no ratings issued for five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and temporary injunctions by Travis County courts.

“Every Texas family deserves a clear view of school performance, and now those families finally have access to data they should have received two years ago,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said. “Transparency drives progress, and when that transparency is blocked, students pay the price.”

TEA is not releasing the 2023-2024 school year ratings due to a separate lawsuit filed, but ratings for the 2024-2025 school year are set to be released August 2025.

The 2022-2023 scores differ from previous years due to updated standards with the method for calculating A-F scores reflecting performance. The state provided a “What If” with the 2021-2022 school year scores to compare under the new standards.

While GISD received a rating of 90, or an A rating, in the 2021-2022 ratings, under the “What If” scores they would’ve received a score of an 81, or a B rating. The newly released ratings have GISD at a score of 78, or a C rating.

The A-F accountability ratings are based on three areas of performance: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. 

Student achievement is based on how much students know and are able to do at the end of the year; school progress is based on how students perform over time and the growth in comparison to similar schools; and closing the gaps is based on how well different cohorts of students within a school are performing.

GISD scored 78 out of 100 on student achievement, 79 out of 100 in school progress and 74 out of 100 on closing the gaps.

Each campus receives its own ratings as well under the accountability system which make up the overall district rating. 

Woodland, Pioneer and Crestview Elementary School are combined and overall scored 74, or a C rating. Graham High School overall scored 77, or a C rating and Graham Junior High School overall scored 83, or a B rating.

The elementary schools have a 2021-2022 “What If” rating of 81, or a B rating, which matches the actual 2021-2022 rating issued by the state. The campuses scored 75 out of 100 in student achievement, 78 out of 100 in school progress and 64 out of 100 in closing the gaps.

GJHS has a 2021-2022 “What If” rating of 77, or a C rating, which is one point lower than their actual 2021-2022 rating issued by the state. The campus scored 77 out of 100 in student achievement, 81 out of 100 in school progress and 56 out of 100 in closing the gaps. 

GHS has a 2021-2022 “What If” rating of 85, or a B rating, which is a nine-point drop from their 94, or A rating, originally released by the state for 2021-2022. GHS scored 80 of 100 in student achievement, 79 out of 100 in school progress and 71 out of 100 in closing the gaps.

The elementary schools received an academic achievement in science, GJHS received academic achievement in social studies and was in the top 25% in closing the gaps and GHS received academic achievements in mathematics, science and social studies.

NISD, which has kindergarten through 12th grade under one campus, received a total score of 92, or an A rating. The district received 92 out of 100 in student achievement, 92 out of 100 in school progress and 93 out of 100 in closing the gaps.

The 2021-2022 “What If” rating for NISD was one point higher than the actual score given, with a score of 91, or an A rating. 

The district received academic achievements in mathematics, science, social studies and was in the top 25% for academic growth and closing the gaps. The campus also received a recognition for its postsecondary readiness.

NISD Interim Superintendent Ted West shared the accountability rating for the district Friday, April 25 and said though the measurement system has been controversial, NISD has continued to perform.

“Thank you for the hard working students, faculty members and parents that are responsible for this glimpse into Newcastle ISD,” West said.