25-04-2025
Texas Democrats allege new public school ratings ‘deceptive' and ‘harmful'
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Accountability ratings from two school years ago show Texas public schools saw a decline in performance. A group of Texas Democrats argue the scores are unreliable and inaccurate, but the head of the state's public schools said the assessments are fair.
The Texas Education Agency released the ratings from the 2022-2023 school year on Thursday, which give schools an A through F rating based on metrics of student achievement, school progress, and how the school closes gaps between different student groups. Legal battles delayed the release of the information for years after school districts sued the agency arguing it did not give proper notice of how it was going to change the rating system.
The data shows 44% of the schools stayed the same letter rating, 13% increased to a better rating and 43% dropped to a lower rating.
'Schools didn't grow students as rapidly as they had the year before,' Mike Morath, the Commissioner of the TEA, explained to reporters in an online news conference.
Members of the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus met with Morath Thursday morning at the Capitol to discuss the scores and their concerns. Immediately following the meeting the lawmakers held a news conference where they alleged the scores were meant to discredit public schools on the same day the Texas Senate gave the final approval on school choice legislation.
'That is a plan to rob our schools of their resources and hand them over to the profiteers so they can make money off of money that should be going to educate our kids,' State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D – Austin, said.
The group of Texas Democrats questioned the methodology of the system, which was updated for the 2022-2023 assessment. They allege the new methodology caused some schools to drop from a B rating down to a F.
'They literally changed the goal post,' State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D – Houston, said. The group of Democrats argued the assessment does not highlight all the good work public schools have been doing in the past couple of years after COVID-19.
'They have been starved since 2019, they have gone through COVID. They have had to deal with some unimaginable things without any support,' State Rep. Aicha Davis, D- Dallas, explained.
Morath disagrees the TEA moved the goal post. He explained the agency is required to update its methodology every five years in order to 'make Texas a national leader in preparing students for post-secondary success.' He also argued the new methodology did not force schools to have a lower grade than they would have gotten with the previous methodology.
The ratings for the 2023-2024 have also not been released as they are pending in a separate judicial proceeding. Morath argued earlier this week that the raw data used to calculate the rating for schools is available for local school boards to review and make public to parents. The lawsuit only prevents TEA from releasing those numbers.
Hinojosa said the House Committee on Public Education will most likely discuss an accountability bill, House Bill 4, next week that could lead to changes in how Texas rates its public schools.
'When we see how broken, and how there's no trust in this accountability system, that we remake one that makes sense,' Hinojosa said.
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