The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released 2023 A-F accountability ratings for school systems and campuses statewide on April 24, after a two-year battle waged by several public school districts over the ratings system.

Katy ISD – normally a highly-ranked district – received a “B” rating with a total of 88 points awarded out of 100. Other districts in the Houston area which received better rankings included Tomball (A ranking with score of 91), Friendswood ISD (A ranking with score of 91), Barbers Hill (A ranking with score of 91), and Pearland ISD (B ranking with score of 89).

Katy ISD responded with an April 23 post on its Facebook page. “The release of TEA’s 2023 school ratings were previously delayed by a Texas court, which affirmed a concern many districts — including Katy ISD — have long voiced: TEA’s shifting testing and scoring methodology is leading to misleading and inaccurate ratings that do not accurately reflect the true performance of our students and schools,” the post said.

“Despite steady and improved student performance in key subjects like reading, math and science across the 2023 STAAR assessments, Katy ISD is set to be reported as having dropped from an “A” rated district in 2022 to a “B” in 2023,” the post continued. “This disconnect between actual student achievement and the assigned rating raises significant concerns.”

Superintendent Ken Gregorski also responded with a letter to parents and students. “This outcome is disappointing and confusing, as it stands in direct contradiction to the academic gains our students have made,” the letter said. “In 2022, the TEA acknowledged that it could take up to a decade for students across the state to fully recover from the academic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic — a reality that has played out in declining, then gradually improving, proficiency scores statewide. Here in Katy ISD, student performance held steady and, in several areas, surpassed the previous year’s results — with our students continuing to outperform their peers across the state in 2023 and 2024. Despite this progress, TEA decided to downgrade our district’s 2023 rating in its latest accountability release. This raises a critical question: how can a district show steady — even improved — academic performance, yet receive a lower rating?”

“The answer lies in the metrics, not the merit,” Gregorski’s letter continued. “What’s changed is not the caliber of education our students are receiving — but the state’s accountability system. Even state lawmakers have taken notice, with at least 15 bills introduced this legislative session aimed at addressing flaws in the STAAR and accountability system. The system simply fails to capture the full picture of the growth, dedication and successes we witness every day in our classrooms.” The letter may be viewed in its entirety at https://ow.ly/UFsp50VGy8e.

The Texas State Teachers Association also weighed in on the statewide results.

“Even under normal circumstances, STAAR test scores are an inadequate and unfair way to measure student progress and assign A-F grades to schools and school districts,” said an April 24 press release from the organization. “They are particularly unfair to schools in low-income communities, where many children are in critical need of additional resources, not only for their schools but also for health care and other needs. These kids often get the lowest STAAR scores, and their schools get most of the Ds and Fs on their accountability scorecards. These tests, taken in 2023, as students and their teachers were still recovering from the pandemic, were not scored under normal circumstances. The commissioner changed the grading rules after the tests were taken. He retroactively raised the required passing scores for one key element in the ratings – the college, career and military readiness of a school district’s high school graduates – resulting in lowered accountability grades for many districts.”

The A-F ratings were first issued for Texas public school systems in 2018, and the rating methodology had been largely unchanged since that time, TEA said. For this set of ratings from the 2022-23 school year, the methods of calculating A-F scores were updated to more accurately reflect performance, as part of a previously communicated system refresh, TEA said in an April 24 press release. To provide an apples-to-apples comparison between 2022 and 2023 A-F ratings, TEA also published What If overall scale scores and ratings for 2022 on TXSchools.gov using the refreshed system. These ratings do not replace the final 2022 A-F ratings but are intended to provide a clear picture for school systems to support self-evaluation and improvement planning. The A–F accountability system was established in 2017 by the 85th Texas Legislature through House Bill (HB) 22 to provide clear and consistent information on how schools are performing in three key areas: Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps. Designed to drive continuous improvement, the A-F system helps ensure that all students, regardless of background, have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success after graduation. A-F ratings help educators and school systems celebrate successes and focus support where it is needed most, TEA said.

TEA remains prohibited from issuing 2024 ratings due to ongoing legal action in a separate lawsuit. School performance ratings from the 2024-25 school year are scheduled to be issued in August 2025.