Update:
This is a developing story and will be updated frequently.
A-F grades for Texas schools blocked again by a judge
Accountability scores were set to be published Thursday.
A Texas judge once again blocked the release of A-F accountability grades for public schools that were to be published Thursday.
The order comes in response to a lawsuit from a handful of districts, alleging the grades would be invalid because they’re based on results from flawed STAAR tests. The school officials questioned the use of computers to score students’ essays on the assessment.
The temporary restraining order, granted Monday by Travis County District Judge Karin Crump, stops the Texas Education Agency from releasing new grades for campuses and districts — at least for now. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26.
Last year’s grades also were blocked by a lawsuit from several districts, including Dallas Independent School District, that alleged changes to scoring methods would unfairly give campuses lower marks.
Education Commissioner Mike Morath has lamented the legal battle and defended the state’s methodology for grading schools.
Texas’ A-F accountability system evaluates every public school and district across the state, giving families a feel for how their local campuses are performing. The ratings are a major factor in how the community perceives local schools.
Texas Education Agency officials said they are reviewing the filing.
“It is disappointing that a small group of school boards and superintendents opposed to fair accountability and transparency have once again filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing A-F ratings from being issued and keeping families in the dark about how their schools are doing,” agency officials said in a statement.
Last year’s lawsuit took aim at the state’s revised formula for grading campuses and alleged that Morath didn’t give districts enough notice about what measures, methods and procedures would be applied to their new scores.
The second lawsuit goes further: It takes issue with the validity of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test. The A-F grades are largely based on these standardized test scores.
It argues that the commissioner can’t assign A-F ratings because the test isn’t “valid and reliable.”
“It is our goal to invalidate the STAAR test that all students took across the state of Texas, and all resulting metrics built on that score as well,” said attorney Nick Maddox, who is working with the school districts.
The state quietly rolled out the use of computer scoring for student’s STAAR essay questions in December, along with other changes.
“During the 2023–24 school year, the Commissioner radically changed the way the new STAAR test is being administered by replacing human graders with AI grading,” the lawsuit states. “This change was made without ensuring that this radical change would not impact the new STAAR test’s validity and reliability.”
Many districts noticed a large number of high schoolers scored zeroes on their written responses.
Scores generated this way “threaten to unfairly — and unlawfully — lower the A–F ratings of many school districts and campuses,” the lawsuit states.
Agency officials have stood by the automated grading system, saying it is not the same as the generative AI that powers programs such as ChatGPT. They described it as a tool with narrow abilities that improves efficiency and is as accurate as human scorers.
If state officials released A-F scores as planned, districts could face harmful consequences, according to the lawsuit. Failing grades can trigger intervention from the state — such as the takeover of Houston ISD.
Morath championed the accountability system Monday morning during a hearing in front of the Legislature’s House Public Education Committee. He called the STAAR test reliable, adding that the release of A-F scores benefits kids and families by letting them know how well the schools are doing at educating students.
“It does work,” he said.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
