Underperforming Schools in Texas and the Lack of A-F School Ratings

In response to this week’s lawsuit filed on behalf of several school districts, the state of Texas now faces the possibility of a fifth consecutive year without issuing consequential school ratings. The 2018-19 school year was the first and only year in which Texas identified underperforming schools — meaning they could earn either a “D” or “F” rating. Since the understandable pandemic pause in 2019-20 and 2020-21, schools have not received publicly available ratings for three school years since.

This year’s cohort of entering ninth graders are the product of schools and school districts that haven’t received ratings since they were in third grade.

EdTrust believes firmly in providing equitable access to quality education for all students, particularly for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. For more than two decades, this commitment has distinguished our organization as a champion of transparency and accountability in education funding and delivery — for students, parents, and the public.

This prolonged delay leaves local school system leaders, families, and taxpayers without one of their only tools to understand school performance and advocate for effective programs and additional resources. Lack of transparency and accountability undermines trust among caregivers and the broader public and is especially harmful to communities whose schools have been under-resourced and under-serving their children for far too long.

Entering the next legislative session, the lawsuit also threatens to deprive state leaders, responsible for our $70 billion annual investment in public education, from having data about what strategies are working and where additional attention and support are needed. This information is especially crucial as state lawmakers consider authorizing a state-funded voucher program and determine how to more equitably and strategically allocate state resources to improve educational outcomes for all Texas children.

While there may be disagreement about the details of the A-F system, Texans cannot afford to lose focus on our state’s 5.5 million public school students. Just over half of all Texas students are reading on grade level, 41% are on grade level in math, 36% complete a credential or degree within six years of high school graduation, and the disparities facing students of color and students from low-income backgrounds have only grown wider since the pandemic. Yet, according to campus accountability ratings, the state of Texas has no underperforming schools.

EdTrust in Texas applauds Houston ISD (HISD) for releasing unofficial campus ratings for the last two years, despite the legal challenges that have prevented the same information from being released for every other district in the state. These ratings reveal overall improvement in student performance, especially on campuses that have traditionally underserved the district’s communities of color and students from low-income backgrounds. As other districts have protested updates to the state’s A-F formula, HISD has instead used this information to focus its attention and resources where needed most.

One of the three exit criteria for HISD to return to an elected board is to have no campuses that are failing for consecutive years. Official ratings are needed to meet the criteria and move back to an elected board.

EdTrust in Texas will monitor the legal challenges to the release of A-F ratings and continue to push for accurate, transparent data that sheds light on how students are doing and how best to support them.