Houston Independent School District received an overall ‘C’ grade from the Texas Education Agency for the 2022–23 academic year, marking a decline for the state’s largest school district from its ‘B’ rating the previous year.
More than 120 school districts sued Education Commissioner Mike Morath in 2023 to block the release of that year’s ratings, claiming TEA failed to provide districts adequate notice of changes in how the scores were calculated and could unfairly assign lower grades. Houston ISD was not one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
A court recently ruled against the districts, and the TEA was permitted to release the data last week.
The accountability ratings serve as a “report card” for how well Texas schools are serving students and taxpayers.
The report shows 27.5 percent of students in the district are chronically absent and categorizes 79.5 percent of students as economically disadvantaged.
According to TEA in the report, officials considered multiple factors to score districts across the state.
“Overall grades for districts and schools are calculated based on performance in three key areas, or domains. We take the higher score between how much students know (Student Achievement) or how much better students are doing than last year or than peers in similar schools (School Progress). We then consider whether performance gaps exist among different groups of students (Closing the Gaps).”
Student Achievement measures whether students met expectations on the state standardized tests—called STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness). It also measures graduation rates and how prepared students are for success after high school. Houston ISD scored a 70.
School Progress shows how students perform over time and how the district’s performance compares to other districts with similar economically disadvantaged student populations. Houston ISD received a 74.
Closing the Gaps breaks down the student population by race and gives them different achievement targets. Houston ISD received a grade of 68.
A total of 121 HISD campuses earned a ‘D’ or ‘F’ rating.
Several Houston-area districts outperformed Houston ISD under the same system. Tomball and Barbers Hill ISDs both secured ‘A’ grades.
At the lower end, Houston-area Aldine ISD and Cleveland ISD received ‘D’ scores while Hempstead ISD scored an ‘F.’
In June 2023, TEA assumed control of Houston ISD, citing chronic underperformance at campuses.
State-appointed board members and Superintendent Mike Miles introduced the New Education System, which features scripted lessons and other targeted interventions.
The release of the 2023–24 TEA ratings is being held up by litigation.
