The number of Houston ISD schools meeting state standards is now the highest it has ever been under Texas’ tougher new accountability system that was introduced in 2012.
According to ratings released today by the Texas Education Agency, 90 percent of HISD schools rated (251 out of 278) earned a “met standard” rating for the 2016-2017 school year. At the same time, 11 fewer schools received an “improvement required” rating. HISD earned a “met standard” district rating.
This is the fifth year in which Texas has rated schools using the current accountability system, which considers four factors for the student body as a whole, and for racial and ethnic minority groups. Those factors include:
- Performance on the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR)
- Student progress from year to year
- Closing performance gaps
- Postsecondary readiness
Nearly half (18 out of 38) of HISD schools that were considered “improvement required” last year achieved a “met standard” rating in 2017. Those schools are Bellfort Early Childhood Center, Advanced Virtual Academy (AVA), Foerster, Gallegos, Bruce, C. Martinez, Young, Cook, Lewis, and Kashmere Gardens elementary schools. Also on that list are E-Stem Central, HS Ahead, Edison and Forest Brook middle schools, and Liberty, Milby, and Westbury high schools.
One campus rated “improvement required” last year was not rated this year (Harper Alternative). Additionally, Victory Prep North and South were rated “improvement required” in 2016 prior to joining HISD. Both were rated “met standard” for the 2016-17 school year. This means in all, 21 campuses came off of the “improvement required” list for 2016-2017.
This progress comes despite the toughest standards since the implementation of the state’s new accountability system in 2012. The 90 percent of HISD schools that “met standard” is the highest the district has seen and includes additional schools added to the district’s total number of campuses.
You can watch a press conference about the ratings here.