Local districts reflect on pandemic’s impact on accountability ratings

The state has been measuring school accountability for decades, but TEA debuted a new system in 2018 that assigns a letter grade — A through F — to campuses and districts. In addition to the letter grade, districts are evaluated on a 100-point scale in different areas of each domain. Schools with domain or overall scaled scores under 70 are labeled “Not Rated.”

All of the metrics tap into the standardized test administered to Texas students each April from third grade until senior year: the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness test, or STAAR.

Denton ISD

Denton ISD earned a B on the TEA accountability ratings.

Denton school officials said the ratings showed that teachers rose to the occasion in the aftermath of COVID-19, but those teachers faced obstacles that came with the return to in-person classes. Progress has been dogged, if uneven, officials said.

“An overarching piece is that we have room to grow in all areas, especially math,” said Denton ISD Superintendent Jamie Wilson. “What this shows is that our teachers are getting it done when we get access to our kids. Our teachers have done a masterful job at meeting our kids where they are, and taking them as far as they can. We wanted to focus on where our kids were, and take them as far as we could once we got them.”

Wilson said Texas districts had a lot of ground to cover after the pandemic shuttered schools in favor of virtual learning in spring 2020, then opened that fall with hybrid classrooms splitting students between virtual and in-person classes. When schools reopened, teachers and administrators found that COVID-19 left another casualty: learning loss.

COVID learning losses have been deep enough that in the most recent school board election, almost all candidates cited it as the biggest issue facing Denton public school students.

“We think about summer of ’21,” Wilson said. “Last summer, our teachers and our kids had just got out of this very tumultuous year. And, you know, parents weren’t necessarily wanting to send their kids to intensive summer school. And teachers weren’t necessarily wanting to go do intensive summer school. So we spent a lot of time being very intentional about ‘hey, we will get our kids in August. We’ll see where they are. We’ll take them as far as we can.’ And now we know where they are.”

Mike Mattingly, Denton ISD’s associate superintendent of curriculum, instruction and staff development, said math differs from other subjects.

“Think about how you learn math,” Mattingly said. “It’s really building blocks, one on the other. If during the pandemic students are spotty in their attendance or in the experience they had, there could be some of those building blocks that are absent. And so it’s taking a while for us to identify which student has different deficits, and then putting those back in. It’s really showing up on the STAAR exams because of the pandemic, we believe.”

Wilson and Mattingly said subjects such as reading and writing almost organically build on skills students learned in the past.

“it’s not as simple with math, because they’re more discrete standards,” Mattingly said. “Lots of things could be missing that we haven’t identified yet.”

In looking at the domain of student achievement, TEA officials weighted the STAAR test as 40% of the score. College, career and military readiness account for another 40% of the score. Finally, the graduation rate accounts for 20% of the score. Denton ISD received a 79 on the STAAR, a 91 on college, career or military readiness and a 95 on graduation rate.

In calculating school progress for a district, TEA looked at students’ academic growth and how a district’s student progress compares to similar districts. One hundred percent of the score comes from relative performance, with Denton ISD scoring an 82 out of 100 in academic growth and 84 in relative performance.

In closing the gaps, TEA measured four areas: academic achievement on STAAR test; graduation rate; English proficiency among students learning English; and school quality, measured by college, career and military readiness. Denton ISD earned a 50 in academic achievement, 89 in graduation rate, 100 in English proficiency and 100 in school quality.

Wilson said the ratings are meaningful, but don’t elaborate on the entirety of Denton ISD student performances. The STAAR test doesn’t reflect student creativity or innovation — both of which are district buzzwords. As a district serving about 33,000 students in 43 schools, teachers and administrators look to state metrics, but they also keep their eye on the community surrounding the district and industry.

“I think all school districts provide so many experiences for students,” Mattingly said. “There are opportunities to have access to technology, athletics, fine arts. ... I think that people don’t really realize what all they have when they come to a school district that thinks innovatively, and tries to be creative and tries to find the right teachers that can really engage their students and create that learning environment. Those are things are hard to measure, other than just whether students are participating or not, but we identified that [creativity] as one of our goals.”

Wilson said the district’s aim is to educate students who will graduate and dive into a workforce hungry for people who can adapt, think creatively and keep learning.

“Entrepreneurship is about innovation and creativity,” Wilson said. “You’re not going to get that measure on the STAAR test. And in fact, your most creative and most innovative students, who really do show their learning in a different way, may not ever show it on pencil-paper assessment. ... I think a lot of parents would say to you that they feel like a one day, high-stakes test takes away from the teacher’s ability to enhance creativity and enhance innovation.”

School districts are also rated for their financial management, with the state studying districts’ revenue, expenses and debt. Denton ISD scored an “A” rating, with 90 out of 100.

Argyle ISD

Argyle ISD landed its highest ever rating since the assessment started, with an “A” rating and 97 out of 100.

Argyle ISD also earned the highest score of any district in Denton County.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments of our students and teachers in the 2022 accountability ratings,” Argyle ISD Superintendent Telena Wright said. “The ratings reflect the immense amount of tireless efforts by our students and teachers during the 2021-2022 school year.”

Argyle is a smaller school district and served 4,314 students on five campuses last year. The district just opened a new elementary school, Argyle South, this week. It’s the district’s third elementary campus, and it sits in Flower Mound city limits.

In financial accountability, Argyle ISD also performed well, getting an “A” and 96 out of 100.

Sanger ISD

Sanger ISD, a rural district that served 2,746 students across seven campuses last year, earned a B rating and an 87 out of 100.

“While we are pleased with our TEA accountability rating, there is always room for improvement,” Sanger ISD Superintendent Tommy Hunter said in a statement. “Sanger ISD teachers and staff worked tirelessly over the past two and a half years, despite COVID-19, to educate our students and keep our doors open in a safe environment. We thank our teachers and staff for their continued commitment and dedication to our students.”

Sanger ISD scored an “A” rating in financial accountability, with 98 out of 100.

Krum ISD

Krum ISD, a rural district serving 2,217 students on six campuses, earned a “B” rating with 83 out of 100. Student achievement kept pace with the overall rating, though school progress and closing the gaps domains each earned “C” ratings.

Taylor Poston, the district’s public information officer, said the district is pleased with the rating.

“Our teachers work extremely hard to create academic capacity in our students,” Posten said. “The work that takes place in our schools over the course of a year is much more than a single letter grade.”

The district currently lags behind the state average for college, career and military readiness, which Posten said could change as the district develops more capacity in that area.

“Right now, our biggest obstacle regarding CCMR is certification programs and platforms, and getting teachers who are able to run those programs,” she said.

Krum ISD got an “A” rating on financial accountability, with 100 out of 100.

Financial integrity ratings were based on districts’ 2019-20 data.