TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
The Texas Education Agency released its school accountability ratings for the 2022-23 school year to the displeasure of many school districts in the state.
Lawsuits prevented more timely reporting of the scores as educators deemed them unfair, contending they had little to no warning before TEA implemented stricter benchmark grading. Proponents of the TEA ratings claimed if schools were doing their jobs the changes in scoring shouldn’t matter.
Thrall Independent School District received the highest grade out of the schools in east Williamson County, but Thrall superintendent Tommy Hooker was as displeased at the score as his colleagues at neighboring schools.
Hooker said, “Thrall ISD was grateful for the 2023 grade received from TEA, but there is minimal reason to celebrate this accomplishment they reported as it does not recognize the letter grade of ‘A’ that was earned.”
Hooker alleged TEA recorded a subcategory grade of 63% for College Bridge courses that was incorrectly coded into the Public Education Information Management System.
According to Hooker, Thrall’s correct score was 96%.
The Taylor Press and other news sources previously printed that more than 120 school districts took part in lawsuits to prevent TEA from releasing its accountability ratings, but Hooker had a different take on the lawsuits.
“We reported (our) inaccurate score to TEA prior to the reporting deadline. They refused to correct this for us and many other districts in the state, and this resulted in over 100 school districts suing the TEA,” Hooker said.
Hutto ISD is one of the schools that has sued TEA. While not addressing any legal dispute, in a letter to parents, superintendent Jeni Neatherlin said, “The state’s rating system attempts to measure performance, but it doesn’t tell the full story of the growth and success happening in our schools every day.”
Taylor and Coupland ISDs echoed Neatherlin’s sentiment. Earl Purcell, superintendent of Coupland, said, “The district’s rating for the 2022-2023 school year … (doesn’t) reflect or capture how the district goes above and beyond for our students every day. It measured one day in time.”
Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen, Taylor superintendent, called the TEA rating “outdated,” with Granger ISD superintendent Stephen Brosch agreeing.
“The data that we are currently focused on is the data we’ve had the ability to control and attack for the 2024-2025 school year, not from the 2022-23 school year,” Brosch said.
Hooker added, “Due to this coding error on TEA and the lawsuit against them, 2023 scores don’t have much relevance.”
Garcia-Edwardsen said the work Taylor ISD has put in the past few years was recently highlighted by the Region 13 Education Service Center for the strides made since the 2022-2023 school year.
“One rating and one annual standardized test are not enough to truly capture the depth of student achievement in any school district,” she said.
According to educators, academic achievement and accountability should be measured differently to recognize the efforts of students and teachers beyond standardized test scores. “Our focus remains on providing quality education and creating opportunities for all students to succeed, rather than solely relying on a system that we feel is flawed and inconsistent,” Brosch said.
Neatherlin said the Hutto school district will continue to use all data available, including the TEA rating, to evaluate its work and improve where needed, but she stressed that Hutto ISD is on the rise in academics and all areas of student life.
Neatherlin said, “Our kids are more than a test score, and our schools are more than a letter grade.
That’s why we remain focused on instructional excellence, high-quality curriculum and expanding opportunities that prepare every Hippo for life after graduation.”
Many of the districts agreed there is always room for improvement, but at the end of the day Garcia-Edwardsen said, “We’re not only preparing students to pass a test, we’re preparing them for the next grade level, graduation and life beyond school.”
The 2023-2024 TEA accountability ratings have not yet been released due to lawsuits.
STAAR test scores will be released in August 2025.
