Apr. 24—AUSTIN — The Texas Education Agency (TEA) on Thursday released 2023 A-F accountability ratings for school systems and campuses statewide, restoring transparency for parents and the public regarding school performance following a lawsuit-induced two-year delay. Though these ratings reflect performance from the 2022-23 school year, TEA is now able to publicly release them for the first time and make them available at TXSchools.gov. TEA is prevented from sharing more recent school ratings from the 2023-24 school year due to a separate, ongoing lawsuit. School performance ratings from the 2024-25 school year are scheduled to be issued in August 2025, a news release said.
“For far too long, families, educators and communities have been denied access to information about the performance of their schools, thanks to frivolous lawsuits paid for by tax dollars filed by those who disagreed with the statutory goal of raising career readiness expectations to help students,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in the release. “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. Transparency drives progress, and when that transparency is blocked, students pay the price.”
A-F ratings were first issued for Texas public school systems in 2018, and the rating methodology had been largely unchanged since that time. For this set of ratings from the 2022-23 school year, the methods of calculating A-F scores were updated to more accurately reflect performance, as part of a previously communicated system refresh. To provide an apples-to-apples comparison between 2022 and 2023 A-F ratings, TEA also published “What If” overall scale scores and ratings for 2022 on TXSchools.gov using the refreshed system. These ratings do not replace the final 2022 A-F ratings but are intended to provide a clear picture for school systems to support self-evaluation and improvement planning.
The A — F accountability system was established in 2017 by the 85th Texas Legislature through House Bill (HB) 22 to provide clear and consistent information on how schools are performing in three key areas: Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps. Designed to drive continuous improvement, the A-F system helps ensure that all students, regardless of background, have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success after graduation. A-F ratings help educators and school systems celebrate successes and focus support where it is needed most.
Despite the system’s intent for annual transparency, for the past five years, families have gone without a complete set of ratings. No ratings were issued for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and while ratings were released in 2022, the ratings were heavily impacted by pandemic-related learning disruptions and a state law that prevented D and F ratings from being issued that year. Legal challenges then delayed the release of ratings for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
The release of 2023 ratings give families a much-needed and long-overdue opportunity to understand how their schools are serving students. The ratings also give districts valuable insights to strengthen instruction, close achievement gaps and support continuous improvement.
To view 2023 A-F ratings for school systems and campuses, visit TXschools.gov.