Joint Statement Regarding Proposed Accountability System

Today the Texas Education Agency released unofficial ratings for the proposed new accountability system slated to begin in summer 2018. The new system, which is mandated by House Bill 2804 passed in 2015, requires that TEA issue districts and campuses letter grade ratings ranging from A to F for overall performance, as well as performance in each of five domains. The “what if” ratings are preliminary, for planning purposes only, and partial in nature, meaning there are still many variables and other possible data points to consider before this system is applied to schools and districts.

The A-F ratings released by TEA today are part of a report required by the legislature that TEA develop a proposed system and determine the letter grade ratings that districts and campuses would have earned for 4 of the 5 domains (but not an overall rating) for the 2015-16 school year if the system had been in place at that time. The A-F grades reported by TEA are preliminary in nature and have no bearing on the final accountability ratings for the 2015-16 school year, in which Beaumont ISD, Hamshire-Fannett ISD, Nederland ISD, Port Arthur ISD and Port Neches-Groves ISD all Met Standard.

In each of the 4 domains for which TEA has reported letter grade ratings, there is a common distribution of grades, with about two-thirds of campuses and districts receiving letters grades of C, D or F. It is important to note that the ratings contained in today’s report are based on the development of the A–F system as of December 2016. The targets used to determine the A–F grades are based on points established by TEA solely for the purpose of demonstrating one possible, but not necessarily final, approach. Development of the new A-F system will continue—with additional input from stakeholders—until spring 2018, when the final system is expected to be adopted.

As a collective effort, BISD, HFISD, NISD, PAISD and PN-GISD are committed to the ABCs of education—achievement for all students, belief that all students can and will make progress, and conceiving that all students can achieve – no matter what their circumstance might be. We believe in being accountable to our students, their parents, and our community, but we do not agree that the new system accurately communicates the achievements, programs and effective teaching on campuses. As a result, our districts along with many others has or is in the process of submitting resolutions to the state in an attempt to ask legislators to repeal the A-F accountability system.

To learn more about the A-F accountability system and implementation, please visit the Texas Education Agency A-F Resources Page on the TEA website at http://tea.texas.gov/Student_Testing_and_Accountability/Accountability/A-F_Accountability_Resources/ or send an email to rules@tea.texas.gov to submit public comment.

We will remain steadfast in our commitment to student achievement and providing quality educational programs for all students.