After months of legal back-and-forth, the Texas Education Agency has announced it will release the long-delayed A-F accountability ratings for the 2022-23 school year. This follows an April 3 ruling from the Texas 15th Court of Appeals, overturning a previous injunction that had blocked the release of the ratings.
The ratings, which reflect how school districts and campuses perform under the state’s accountability system, are now set to be shared with districts on April 17 and made public on April 24.
This legal battle dates to August 2023, when more than 100 school districts sued TEA Commissioner Mike Morath. The districts argued that changes to the A-F system, particularly a significant increase in the College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) standards, were unfair and implemented without adequate notice. The new system raised the bar for an ‘A’ rating from 60% to 88% of graduates meeting CCMR criteria, a massive 28-point jump applied retroactively.
Last October, we reported that a Travis County judge issued an injunction halting the release of these ratings, agreeing with districts that the changes lacked transparency and compliance with state law. The court emphasized that TEA hadn’t demonstrated the new system’s fairness or feasibility, particularly in light of ongoing concerns about STAAR testing validity.
While this recent appellate decision allows the 2022-23 ratings to move forward, TEA is still barred from issuing ratings for the current school year due to a separate legal challenge.
Texas AFT continues to call for an accountability system that supports, not punishes, our public schools. Educators deserve metrics that reflect the realities of teaching and learning, not ever-shifting goalposts. As legal challenges continue, we’ll keep fighting for transparency, fairness, and a voice for educators in how their work is evaluated.