TEA releases state accountability ratings for North Texas schools

DALLAS - The Texas Education Agency has released the state accountability ratings for school districts in North Texas.

Individual schools in the district are also rated from an "A" to an "F." Schools must receive at least a "D" to meet state standards.

Overall, here’s how the larger North Texas school districts performed:

Allen - A
Arlington – B
Carrollton-Farmers Branch - B
Dallas – B
Denton - B
Fort Worth - C
Frisco - A
Garland – B
Grand Prairie - B
Irving – B
Keller - B
Lewisville - B
Mansfield - A
Mesquite - B
McKinney - B
Plano - A
Richardson – B

Many districts in the Metroplex scored a "B" or "C" rating, with the state taking note of one local district making some of the biggest gains.   

The state recognized Irving ISD for pulling all of its underperforming schools up to passing grades.

But officials for other districts said the state's accountability ratings don't show the full picture.

“We just made tremendous gains this year, very exciting,” Irving ISD Superintendent Dr. Magda Hernandez said.

Last year, five Irving ISD schools had a "D" or "F" grade, while this year, none scored below a "C" rating.

Most Irving schools pulled a "B" or better.

“We went through a whole restructure of re-writing our curriculum this year, but we did have to do some tweaks around this year and listen to the staff and the teachers to see, because they know best,” Dr. Hernandez added.

For the first time, parents can look up their child's school performance online.

“The A-F ratings, it's just lifting all schools. Now everyone's competing. It's just wonderful,” Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said.

But some local districts say the state's accountability ratings don't show the full picture, arguing the grades are based mostly on test scores and not on other aspects of student experience, like athletics and fine arts.

Despite scoring an "A" rating this year, Frisco ISD officials said they're working on releasing their own annual report year-to-year that will take other factors into account beyond test scores.

But state education officials maintain the scores do provide some measure of success.

“When you think about the A-F system and what it means, this has been designed to recognize all that happens in Texas public schools. It is not just about performance on standardized tests. It's a balanced indicator that includes recognition of graduation rates, AP exams, industry credentials, and SAT scores,” explained Commissioner of Education Mike Morath. “We are working to get our kids to be prepared to live and succeed in the American dream.”

Click here to view the full list of district ratings. To see an individual school’s rating, click on the schools tab within a district or search for it here.