Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth ISDs see drop in Texas school performance ratings

NORTH TEXAS - After two years of legal battles, the Texas Education Agency has publicly released its latest accountability ratings for school districts across the state — and major North Texas school districts saw dramatic drops in ratings.

TEA releases 2023 school district ratings

How It Works:

The TEA released its 2023 A–F grades for each Texas school district. These ratings are intended to show parents how schools are performing academically.

Scores are based on standardized test results, academic growth, and career readiness.

North Texas school districts see decline in TEA ratings

By the numbers:

Here are results for some of the largest North Texas school districts:

• Arlington ISD: B to C
• Dallas ISD: B to C
• Fort Worth ISD: B to D
• Mesquite ISD: B to C
• Richardson ISD: B to C

Full list of school district ratings:

Having trouble seeing this chart? CLICK HERE to view the ratings.

Dallas ISD school ratings

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Fort Worth ISD school ratings

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Note: Fort Worth ISD received the lowest grade among the largest districts in North Texas.

Frisco ISD school ratings

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Arlington ISD school ratings

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Garland ISD school ratings

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Lewisville ISD school ratings

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Plano ISD

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Legal challenges delay release of TEA ratings

More than 120 Texas school districts sued the TEA in 2023, delaying the release of these grades. The lawsuits claimed that districts were not given proper notice of changes to benchmarks used in the ratings. Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano and Richardson ISDs were among those involved.

Superintendents told FOX 4 the ratings were unfair and failed to fully reflect student growth. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath argued against that, defending the system’s integrity.

A separate lawsuit is ongoing over the 2024 ratings. That case involves disputes over the calculation and verification of STAAR test scores. 

What's next:

The 2025 ratings are expected to be released in August.

Texas Senate involved in TEA ratings

State lawmakers are also getting involved. The Texas Senate recently passed a bill that would make it harder for school districts to challenge the TEA in court. The bill now heads to the House Public Education Committee.

Dig deeper:

The TEA began publicly issuing A–F ratings in 2018. Officials say the overall framework hasn’t changed much since then. However, the 2022–2023 ratings were calculated with what the agency calls a "system refresh."

What they're saying:

"For far too long, families, educators and communities have been denied access to information about the performance of their schools, thanks to frivolous lawsuits paid for by tax dollars filed by those who disagreed with the statutory goal of raising career readiness expectations to help students," said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.

"Every Texas family deserves a clear view of school performance, and now those families finally have access to data they should have received two years ago. Transparency drives progress, and when that transparency is blocked, students pay the price."

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker seems to have faith in the direction of Fort Worth ISD despite the TEA rating.

"These ratings, while I know it may feel like a blow to some, those of us who have been following public education, specifically Fort Worth ISD, for quite some time. We knew where we were going to be, and we just have to use it as a launching point to move forward as a community, and I’m fully confident that Dr. Molinar and this school board are on the right path," said Parker.

Education