The Texas Education Agency released preliminary campus and district grades Friday using their proposed A-F rating system.
More than 100 districts across the state oppose the new system, including Bryan and College Station ISD’s.
Each campus and district was given four grades. One for student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps, and postsecondary readiness.
BISD received a C, two D’s and an F. Bryan Collegiate High School scored A’s across the board.
CSISD earned an A, a B, a C and a D.
Click here to see the TEA A-F Work-in-Progress Report.
Bryan ISD’s response is below:
The state’s much-debated “what if” A – F rating system has been released, marking districts and school campuses with letter grades that pair dissimilar data together and, most troubling, appear to frequently assign schools of poverty with lower grades.
Across the state, about 1/3rd of all schools received a “D” or an “F” rating. Only about 10 percent of schools statewide received an “A” rating. More than 100 districts across the state have opposed the new system, which arose from a bill passed in the 84th Legislative Session (HB 2804). In anticipation of this first round of preliminary, “what if” ratings, Bryan ISD Trustees joined school boards across the state and voted unanimously for a resolution calling for the A – F rating system to be eliminated. The board has expressed support for accountability and has called on the legislature to allow local communities to create local accountability standards by which to measure schools.
“We appreciate the board’s leadership in passing the resolution opposing A – F,” said Interim Superintendent Tim Rocka. “No single measure of accountability can paint an accurate picture of the quality of a child’s education, and our board understands that. The board and our district administration are thankful for the hard work of our teachers, campus staff, students and their parents.”
While the state declined to release overall ratings for campuses or districts, Bryan Collegiate High School is the region’s only high school to have earned all “As.” Ironically, flaws in the A – F system glare brightly in the case of Bryan High School, which earned five academic distinctions, yet the campus was rated “Ds” across the board in the A – F system. Whereas distinctions are awarded based on how “like” schools compare to one another, A – F pits districts with high poverty and limited resources against affluent districts with abundant resources.
Legislators across the state are being contacted by citizens who are concerned that A – F systems:
• Require a complex set of rules and calculations to combine a multitude of unrelated data points into a single, “simple” letter grade that cannot be supported with explanation.
• Fail to provide feedback that could be used for improvement.
• Disproportionately target schools of poverty as C, D or F-rated schools. This leads to a perception that the students and staff of these schools are of low quality—surely an unintended consequence of the legislation—yet a reality for schools in states that struggle under this oversimplified and unreliable means of rating success.
The current ratings represent preliminary, draft, or “what if” calculations based on a complex methodology developed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Actual ratings do not take effect until August of 2018.
College Station ISD’s response is below:
The Texas Education Agency released a preview of the state’s future A-F accountability system today. The system does not go into effect until spring 2018.
“The realities of what is going on in schools in CSISD, and at other schools across our region and throughout the state, do not match with how the ratings are assigned,” CSISD Superintendent Dr. Clark Ealy said.
For example, CSISD high school students significantly outperform their peers across the state and nation on college entrance exams and produced 20 National Merit Semifinalists this school year alone. Also, CSISD is one of 22 districts in Texas to be recognized as an Advanced Placement Honor Roll District, yet both of CSISD’s comprehensive high schools were assigned a D in the post-secondary readiness domain.
Prior to the receipt of these “what-if” ratings, the CSISD Board of Trustees passed a resolution calling for the repeal of the A-F Accountability System, because they believe the quality of education students receive in CSISD cannot be summed up by a letter grade.
“The accountability ratings assigned by the state reflect a zero-sum game,” CSISD Board of Trustees President Dr. Valerie Jochen said. “When you look at the distributions of ratings, it becomes apparent that the system is setup to ensure a certain number of schools and districts fail, and unfortunately, often times those schools come from higher poverty areas. A more valid system would allow the opportunity for all schools and students to perform at the highest levels.”
“We will continue to emphasize our Community Based Accountability System, which demonstrates a more comprehensive overview of student performance and actually reflects the expectations of our community and families,” Ealy added.