THE IMPACT OF A-F LETTER GRADES
Circle, highlight, and underline this date on the calendar… August 15, 2018.
This is when the state will unveil the inaugural “A-F” letter grade ratings for
public school districts via the state’s academic accountability system. (TEA
will not issue campus-level A-F ratings until summer, 2019.) Regardless of
one’s beliefs about public education, accountability ratings in the form of A-
F letter grades will be critically important to virtually all of the education
system’s stakeholders: students, parents, teachers, campus administrators,
district administrators, school board members, neighborhoods and communities, pro-public education
advocates, pro-voucher advocates, realtors, business and industry leaders, the higher education system,
and officials (including elected officials) at the local, state and even federal levels.
No doubt there will be a plethora of media releases, informational brochures, and website updates prepared
in advance of the August 15 accountability ratings release. Some individuals and organizations will simply
total the number of D’s and/or Fs and issue a broad-brush declaration of failure, with the solution being
an immediate call for vouchers. Some will bemoan the K-12 system’s apparent failure to adequately
prepare students for postsecondary success. Some will tout the A-ratings given to their local school
districts on marquees and/or billboards. And some may dismiss the letter grades by observing that “…a
letter grade will not measure all of the great things we do in public education.”
1
To address the last statement, one must first understand “how we got here,” that is, the policy framework
within which the public education accountability system operates.
CURRENT LAW
What We Knew as of “Sine Die”
The 85
th
Regular Texas Legislature changed the education code by passing
HB 22, which requires the commissioner of education to: “measure and
evaluate school district and campuses with respect to: (1) improving student
preparedness for success in: (A) subsequent grade levels, and (B) entering
the workforce, the military, or postsecondary education; (2) reducing, with
the goal of eliminating, student academic differentials among students from
different racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic backgrounds; and (3)
informing parents and the community regarding campus and district performance.” (TEC, §39.053(a-1))
Legislative action repealed the index system that had been used in the 2012 through 2017 ratings cycles.
Also repealed was the former statutory requirement to implement an A-F rating system (per HB 2804,
2015, 84
th
Texas Legislature), which would have evaluated schools and districts on five domains of
performance. Current law requires the commissioner to implement a new A-F rating system that comprises
three domains, referred to as the Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps domains,
respectively. (TEC, §39.053(c))
TEC, §39.0541 explicitly grants the commissioner broad authority to “adopt indicators and standards
under this subchapter at any time during a school year before the evaluation of a school district or
1
Superintendent’s Panel, Texas Tribune Festival. From Twitter, @MoakCasey, 23 Sept 2017
© Moak, Casey & Associates, February 2018