Ready or not, A-F ratings are coming to Texas school districts and campuses
The revamped Texas public school accountability system that goes into effect next school year brings with it controversial school and district A-F letter-grade ratings, and the Texas Education Agency on Thursday released its rollout timeline and a list of indicators that will determine impending scores.
According to a letter from TEA to administrators, the first ratings will be issued in August 2018, but a “provisional A-F report,” showing the letter rating that each district and campus would have received for the 2015-16 school year if the A-F rating system had been in effect, will be sent to the Texas Legislature on Dec. 30 and to school districts on Jan. 4 – two days before they are released to the public on the TEA website.
Under the new accountability system, school districts and campuses will receive a letter rating of A, B, C, D or F based on five domains of indicators:
Domain I: Student achievement
Domain II: Student progress
Domain III: Closing performance gaps
Domain IV: Postsecondary readiness
Domain V: Community and student engagement
These domains were created to evaluate based on three main goals:
Preparing students for postsecondary success
Reducing achievement gaps among students from different racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds
Informing parents and the community about district and campus performance.
The provisional A-F report will rate schools and districts based only on the first four domains of indicators. The new accountability system will remain under development until final rules are finalized and adopted in spring 2018.
It’s critical for school and district leaders to communicate with their parents, employees and community members about what’s coming soon—to educate them about the new rating system, prepare them for what lies ahead and involve them in the process of continual improvement.
Drive West Communications can assist your school district in communicating about the new rating system. Please contact us for more information.