Austin – On August 15 2022, The Texas Education Agency (TEA) publicly released the initial results of the 2022 STAAR Accountability Rating System which showed impressive gains from the 2019 ratings. The Texas School Alliance (TSA) recognizes, appreciates, and celebrates the unparalleled efforts by Texas teachers, leaders, classroom support staff, students, and families that led to these gains; while at the same time, TSA recognizes that the STAAR Accountability Rating System measures a very narrow scope of what schools contribute to the success of Texas’ K-12 education system and has much room to improve.
Brian Woods, Northside ISD superintendent and President of the Texas School Alliance, states “that while it is understandable and reasonable for everyone to be proud of academic growth, especially after the last couple of years, it is important that educators, parents, community members and policy makers understand the limitations of the current STAAR accountability rating system and continue working towards a school rating system that measures more than a test score and can be understood by parents, students, tax payers, and lawmakers.”
One notable improvement that TSA appreciates is the efforts by the TEA to allow educators the opportunity to participate in ‘STAAR item review committees’ so there is better alignment and consistency between the STAAR test and with what is being taught in the classroom. Educators now have a voice by providing an “early passage review” that includes examining accurate readability levels for each reading and language arts test passage included on STAAR. “Early passage review” was not a part of developing prior year STAAR tests.[1]
Additional Opportunities for Improvement
Because the current STAAR Accountability Rating System remains a work in progress, there are several opportunities to make meaningful improvements that will provide all Texans with an accurate report of how schools are preparing students for the future.
For example, TSA is among a broad cross-section of parents, educators and lawmakers that desire an accountability rating system that in addition to STAAR tests, recognize what thousands of Texans say are important to include when rating a school; such as safety, teacher quality, access to quality extracurricular and enrichment programs, and recognizing student voices. [2]
A second opportunity for improvement is workforce education. The current STAAR Accountability Rating System does very little to measure workforce preparedness, which again is something that Texans say is an important measure of school quality.[3]
And finally, because it relies heavily on the STAAR test, school accountability ratings continue to tell us more about family income than the full range of things that make for a good school.
The analysis of the 2022 ratings, just like the 2019 ratings, show that the 600+ schools which enroll fewer than 20% economically disadvantaged students almost always received an A rating, while the 2,800+ schools that enroll more than 80% economically disadvantaged students rarely received an A.
It also shows that almost all of the schools rated D or F enroll 60 to 100% economically disadvantaged students.
The promising news is that the STAAR Accountability Rating System remains a work in progress and the unintended consequences of the current system are opportunities for improvement in resetting the next school rating system.
[1] TEA Commissioner Morath’s testimony to the House Public Education Committee, 8-9-2022
[2] RYHT Texas Voices Survey, Spring / Summer 2022
[3] Texas Education Agency ESSA Public Input Survey, December 2016
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The Texas School Alliance (TSA) is a school district member organization that comprises 44 school districts in Texas and educates more than 2.2 million students or 42 percent of the state’s total enrollment. As a superintendent-led organization, TSA utilizes a thorough process to research and consider significant policy issues – ranging from school finance to teaching and learning to assessment and accountability. TSA also studies specific topics and works on issues that will improve educational quality for Texas students, particularly those in large and urban districts. Our members cover the breadth of Texas’ geographic expanse, with members from the Rio Grande Valley to the Texas Panhandle, from near the eastern border to far west Texas. The membership includes urban, mid-urban, and city- town districts and includes school districts that are both property wealthy and property poor. More information is available at TexasSchoolAlliance.org.
