Judge Blocks Release Of TEA’s A-F Ratings For Second Year In A Row

A Travis County Judge has again blocked the release of the Texas Education Agency’s A-F accountability grades for the second year in a row.

Judge Daniella DeSata Lyttle granted a coalition of districts’ request to prevent Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath from publishing campus grades for last school year.

This is the second year in a row that the state has been blocked from releasing the A-F school grades after numerous districts said the accountability system is flawed. According to the Dallas Morning News, TEA officials are expected to appeal the decision.

Last month, a coalition of five school districts sued Morath, arguing the accountability system unfairly lowered their rankings and that it negatively impacted vulnerable students.

The A-F accountability system uses STAAR test results, performance, graduation rates, and college and career readiness to score the districts. However, the districts argued that the system is not reliable “because those ratings are based on a flawed assessment instrument (the new STAAR test) that is not valid and reliable,” according to the lawsuit.

TEA recently began using AI to grade STAAR tests essays. Since then, the districts suing the agency argued the measure resulted in a larger percentage of 0/10 scores.

“Based on data obtained in July 2024, somewhere between 30 – 75% of these 0 scores from AI grading have proven to be inaccurate when reviewed and rescored by human graders,” court documents state.

In addition, districts argued the TEA drastically changed how they were being graded in some areas from one year to another. For example an old policy regarding career readiness, would give districts an A rating if they score 60 or above in the area. However, last November, the agency added a new rule stating that a score of 88 or above would be required for schools to earn the A rating.

“A fair rating system must be consistent, and it cannot arbitrarily change from year to year,” the lawsuit states.

According to the News, lawmakers lamented the Judge’s decision to block the release of the ratings.

“I’m tired of having a suit go into the Travis County courts that basically blocks A-F for another year,” State Sen Paul Bettencourt, a Republican, said. “What gets measured gets fixed. This is an absolutely critical component of public education.”

Morath urged lawmakers to take action on the accountability system.

“If you actually want your A-F system to work,” he said. “you are probably going to do something about that.”