It all started when the TEA changed the way Texas schools were graded.
Districts said the new standards would turn a B school into a C or even D school, even though their test scores were better.
That’s what Dallas ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told us last year.
“I would never evaluate a member of my team based on previous evaluation criteria and then say at the end of the evaluation period that I have changed my mind and am now evaluating them on something different.”
A judge stopped the release of scores last year and stopped it again this year as new questions arose about a computer-based scoring system for the STAAR tests this year. But this year, districts knew the numbers in advance and many were OK with the release.
NBC 5 obtained a letter from TEA to schools yesterday informing districts that while the state cannot release grades, districts can.
They can use the raw data from STAAR and calculate their own results. TEA even offers to check the calculations for them.
Both Dallas ISD and Garland ISD have accepted this offer and released these numbers to the public today.
In Dallas ISD, the district hailed by the education commissioner as one of the best in the state, the overall score was 79. A grade of “C.” There would be no failing high schools.
In Garland, the district would receive a “B” grade, but the exact number was not disclosed. Garland ISD said the number of high schools receiving an “A” grade by that metric would triple.
The self-calculated grades were released because both districts want to be accountable to the community. However, there does not appear to be a massive drop in grades, as last year’s lawsuit suggested.
Garland added that they wanted to use the numbers to prove their success and that they desperately needed more money from state lawmakers, which has not come in years and which school superintendents say is hampering them.
NBC 5 spoke with former DISD trustee Miguel Solis, who called the move by both districts a smart move that will benefit them this legislative session.
“They did themselves a favor by going into the legislative session as negotiators to get the resources they need to make improvements,” he said.
Other districts can also calculate and publish their numbers if they wish. Many are still evaluating their next steps but say announcements can be expected in the next few days.
