HOUSTON — One of 14 schools in the Houston Independent School District received a failing grade from the Texas Education Agency despite the district’s overall grade of B.
Deady Middle School, Edison Middle School, Fleming Middle School, Isaacs Elementary School, and Key Middle School were among the 21 HISD schools receiving an ‘F’ grade.
Houston ISD reports that it has 280 schools in the district, which means one in 14 schools in the district are considered “unacceptable.”
The TEA changed the way campuses graded in 2019. Now, schools are evaluated on a letter grade system too, the way districts were in 2018, and are still in 2019.
So how are these letter grades determined?
The TEA considers three “domains,” or pillars, to arrive at a school or district’s letter grade of A-F:
- Student Achievement: “evaluates performance across all subjects for all students; college, career, and military readiness; and graduation rates.”
- School Progress: “measures district and campus outcomes in two areas: students that grew by at least one year academically as measured by STAAR results, and the achievement of all students relative to districts or campuses with similar economically disadvantaged percentages.”
- Closing the Gaps: “uses disaggregated data to demonstrate differentials among racial/ethnic groups. Socioeconomic backgrounds, and other factors."
Student Achievement is calculated differently depending on the type of school, according to the TEA. Elementary and middle schools rely 100 percent on STAAR test scores to determine their letter grades.
High schools, K-12 schools, and Districts use a weighting formula: 40 percent STAAR testing, 40 percent College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR), and 20 percent graduation rate.
Districts and campuses get an overall rating, and a rating for each domain.
To get a district or school’s overall grade, the TEA takes the better of either the “Student Achievement” or “School Progress scores,” and weights it 70 percent. The “Closing the Gaps” score is weighted 30 percent.
RELATED COVERAGE
- HISD given overall grade of "B" by the state with 250 schools passing, 21 failing
- 2019 school report reveals new A-F grades: Search your district or school in Texas
- 'They have pretty much sentenced the school district to a takeover,' HISD board president says
- Upset with your school or district's TEA grade? Here are your options.
