UPDATE:

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has released the “What If” A-F ratings for Domains I-IV based on data from the 2015-16 school year.

To reiterate, these new A-F ratings are hypothetical; in August 2016, TEA released the official state accountability ratings for the 2015-16 school year in which each LISD campus and the district received a “Met Standard” rating.

Leander ISD echoes Commissioner Morath’s statement, that “the ratings in this report are for informational purposes to meet a legislative requirement and represent work-in-progress models that are likely to change before A–F ratings become effective in August 2018. No inferences about official district or campus performance in the 2015–16 school year should be drawn from these ratings, and these ratings should not be considered predictors of future district or campus performance ratings.” Both the district overall rating, and all LISD schools, received the Met Standard rating for the official 2016 state accountability system, and we will continue to stay laser-focused on making improvements that help students reach their fullest potential in all areas of learning and growth.

Please refer to the information below for a detailed explanation.

State accountability ratings for 2015-2016 were released in August 2016 for each district and campus within Texas. This information may be viewed at: http://www.leanderisd.org/assessment

The official 2016 state accountability rating for each campus and our district is Met Standard.

However, House Bill (HB) 2804, passed by the 84th Texas Legislature in 2015, created an upcoming change to state accountability effective August 2018. The accountability system redesign replaces the four indices used to rate public schools with five weighted domains that will be used to evaluate districts and campuses.

Although the new five weighted domains are very similar in title to the old four indices, the indicators and methodologies used for calculation are not equal; therefore a side by side comparison of the indices and the domains is not applicable.

HB 2804 creates A–F rating labels to describe district and campus performance. Districts and campuses will receive a rating of A, B, C, D, or F for performance in each of the five domains and one for overall performance. A rating of A, B, or C is deemed acceptable by the state, while a D or F rating is considered unacceptable.

Timeline for Accountability Redesign per the Texas Education Agency (TEA):

January 2017

On Jan. 6, 2017, TEA will publicly release a model of the A-F ratings for each school and district in Texas. The report will be based on the grade each campus and district would have received for Domains I-IV for 2015-16 had the A-F rating system been in place. This “What If” A-F rating does not impact the official 2016 district or campus accountability rating and becomes effective in the 2017-2018 school year. This new system will evolve through the official release in 2018. As this system evolves over the next year, our district and campus focus will remain on the growth of each student.

Beginning with the 2018 state accountability system:

  • Each district and campus will be assigned an overall performance rating based on an A-F scale in addition to each domain rating.
  • This new system requires the letter rating to be assigned by August 15 of each year thereafter.
  • The new system considers a letter rating of A, B, or C is considered acceptable, and a rating of D or F is considered unacceptable.
  • Prevents districts from receiving an overall or domain rating of A if any campus in the district has received a corresponding domain or overall letter grade of D or F.

Information regarding the A-F state accountability system and/or HB 2804 may be found at the following link: http://tea.texas.gov/2804implementation.aspx

Questions may be directed to the Leander ISD State Assessment Office: [email protected]