TEXAS, USA — Public school ratings are out for the first time since the pandemic started and for most schools, it paints a positive picture.
The ratings system changed slightly this year and schools that received an A, B or C were graded. The change occurred for schools that would have been given a D or F. They were instead labeled as “not rated.”
More than a quarter of all public schools in Texas received an A, 27.9%. And nearly half were given a B, 46.1%. And 19.4% got a C.
The chairman of the Texas House Public Education Committee says the state took action to help students through the pandemic learning loss.
“We kind of did things about it. We took care of it to some extent,” State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. (D-Houston) said on Inside Texas Politics. “There are still some districts and some students who fall into that crevice where COVID has actually set them back a little bit. But for the most part, I think it’s been fantastic.”
Results of the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test play a large role in the Texas Education Agency’s rating system.
And as expected, some of the worst performing schools are located in some of the state’s poorest neighborhoods.
Rep. Dutton says this will be a top priority for his committee when lawmakers return to Austin in January for the next legislative session. He says they’re also taking a close look at other states who have come up with new and unique ways to improve learning.
The Houston Democrat also tells us he expects to see some legislation around a school voucher program introduced. He says it almost always is, but has never come close to passing. Rep. Dutton doesn’t think that will change next year.
“If everything was all right in public education, if everybody was learning and we were trying to create another option, then you might look at vouchers,” he said. “But in this case, what we’re trying to do is improve public schools. And to the extent that we employ vouchers, that takes away from our ability to do that.”
To see your school rating, head here.