San Antonio school districts downgraded in new ratings
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Megan Robinson/Axios
San Antonio area school districts are getting lower scores under a new rating system, per letter grades state officials released Thursday.
Why it matters: The A-F ratings — whose release had been delayed by legal challenges — come as public school advocates are fighting for resources from state lawmakers who appear close to establishing a $1 billion private school voucher program.
Catch up quick: More than 120 school districts tried to block the release of the 2023 ratings, saying the Texas Education Agency had not given them enough notice before revising their standards.
- Among other things, the updated standards require high schools to send 88% of their seniors to college, a trade or technical school, or the military, compared to 60% in the past. Districts said this increased metric would result in unfair drops in their ratings.
- An appeals court this month cleared the way for the ratings' release.
By the numbers: 78% of all rated schools statewide received a passing accountability rating, compared with 93% in 2022. Also in 2023, 22% of rated schools had D or F grades, which are considered failing.
- State education commissioner Mike Morath said that if the updated rubric had been applied to the 2022 rating, about 85% of campuses would have passed, per the Austin American-Statesman.
Zoom out: Across the state, F-rated schools increased by 233%.
Zoom in: Northside ISD, San Antonio's largest district, moved from a B grade in 2019 to a C in 2023. So did North East ISD, San Antonio ISD and Southwest ISD.
- Harlandale and Judson ISDs both went from Bs in 2019 to Ds in 2023.
- South San, Edgewood and East Central ISDs all went from Cs to Ds.
- Southside ISD maintained its C grade from 2019 to 2023, while Somerset ISD maintained its B.
- Alamo Heights and Medina Valley ISDs moved from A grades to Bs in the same timeframe.
What they're saying: "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," Morath said in a statement.
Between the lines: The new standards come as public school advocates fear the state is undermining public education.
- The Legislature is poised to spend nearly $8 billion to increase per-student funding, but Democrats argued that it isn't enough and doesn't match 2019 levels.
Search for school campus ratings here.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the share of rated schools that got passing and failing grades.