A Travis County judge has issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from releasing its ratings of the state’s school districts and campuses for the second year in a row. The ruling comes as Texas school districts filed their second lawsuit over changes to the metrics used to measure their performance.
The TEA redesigned the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test to be administered online with fewer multiple-choice questions. However, school districts argue that the new grading tool is flawed, leading to low scores on the reading section of the test. They claim that the test cannot be trusted to produce fair grades of school districts’ performance.
“The STAAR test itself, the changes were fairly radical this time around,” said Nick Maddox, an attorney representing the school districts. “The trend for all school districts is that scores have decreased fairly significantly. We believe that the issue is this test itself.” The lawsuit is the second legal battle over the A-F rating system. Last fall, a Travis County judge temporarily blocked the release of the 2023-24 ratings, siding with over 120 school districts who argued that the TEA had not given them enough notice before introducing stricter college readiness standards.
The A-F accountability system grades schools on an A-F scale every year based on standardized test scores, academic growth, and progress on closing racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps. Parents rely on the rating system to evaluate school districts’ performance and decide where to enroll their children. For schools, a bad grade could mean significant consequences, including loss of funding and potential state takeover.
The state argues that stricter benchmarks will require schools to better prepare students for life after high school. However, school districts contend that the state is moving too fast and that the new grading tool is unfair.
The case is ongoing, with the TEA planning to appeal the judge’s decision. Families have not had access to a complete set of school ratings for five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent legislative relief measures.