Ratings For All North Texas School Districts Released

The state on Wednesday unveiled its controversial new academic accountability system, which shows that nearly half of North Texas school districts received an A or B grade. Among nearly 160 school districts and charter school operators in the area, 39 earned the top A grade including Highland Park, Coppell and Sunnyvale in Dallas County and Carroll, Grapevine-Colleyville and Hurst-Euless-Bedford in Tarrant County.  As expected, Dallas ISD received a B, with an overall score of 81. The surprise, though, was how it compared with schools ringing its southern border.

The state looks at three major categories for the grades: student achievement, school progress and “closing the gaps.”  Student achievement is mostly made up of how well students did on STAAR tests. School progress includes how much improvement students made from one year to the next, or how well they did in relation to comparable campuses, whichever is greater. “Closing the gaps” looks at how well schools do educating children in different subgroups, such as those living in poverty, enrolled in special education or of various racial backgrounds.  Seventy percent of the grade is based on either student achievement or school progress — whichever is the higher grade — while closing the gaps makes up 30 percent.

Supporters of letter grades for schools say the new system is more transparent and easier for the public to understand. Former education commissioner Michael Williams, who now is chairman for Texas Aspires, said it will better drive policy to help improve schools quicker.

–        Dallas Morning news, August 16, 2018

The school districts and their ratings are as follows:

Here are the top rated districts that received the state’s highest accountability ratings based largely on how well kids did on the STAAR tests.

Here are the North Texas school districts that earned a B.

Source: Texas Education Agency, August 15, 2018