When the Texas Education Agency (TEA) releases its campus and district ratings on April 24, many schools will appear to have fallen behind — but the reality is far more complicated. These ratings will reflect a shift in the grading system used by the Texas Education Agency — changes that were made unilaterally and without legislative approval.
The new 2023 accountability ratings will show fewer schools receiving A or B ratings, and more being labeled with C, D, or even F. However, this decline is not necessarily due to a drop in student performance. Instead, it is the equivalent of shifting the goalposts in the middle of a game, or worse, after the game has been played. These mid-year changes have made it substantially more difficult for campuses to earn high marks.
“It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison,” said HD Chambers, Executive Director of the Texas School Alliance, which represents 50 of the state’s largest districts. “The Commissioner moved the finish line without consent or collaboration — and now schools are being judged against a scale that didn’t even exist when the work was done.”
The 2023 ratings have been delayed for almost two years due to litigation over changes that the Commissioner made to the grading criteria. One example of the state’s new grading scale means that a school’s College, Career, and Military Readiness score that previously earned an A might now receive a C because the Commissioner changed the rules.
“In my opinion, this has eroded trust in the system,” Chambers said. “Educators want and support accountability. We believe in a system that is fair, transparent, and genuinely reflects school performance. But shifting metrics after the fact and then using them to label schools as underperforming is both irresponsible and misleading.”
Public school leaders across Texas are urging lawmakers to take action during the ongoing legislative session to address flaws in the assessment and accountability system and restore credibility to how schools are measured.
“We look forward to continuing to work with legislators to improve assessment and accountability in Texas,” Chambers said. “Students, parents and taxpayers deserve a system they can trust — one that rewards progress and provides an honest picture of school quality.”
