In the 84th Texas Legislature Session (2015), House Bill 2804 was passed. This bill changed how Texas schools are to be rated by TEA. Schools will now receive a letter “grade” rating from A-F. They will receive a rating grade for each of five areas, as well as a cumulative rating grade.
The TEA says that this new rating system is a work-in-progress. So, if you see problems with the new system, have ideas on how to improve it, or see things you like, please let TEA and your state representatives know.
Here is a link to a PDF about the new TEA grade rating system: TEA’s A-F Overview
Putting the TEA Grading System into perspective
Dallas Morning News has a good article that helps put the ratings in perspective for DISD parents:
Also for your consideration are points about specific gains that Dallas ISD has made that may be overlooked in the summary TEA grade. For example, although Dallas ISD received a D on Domain I (in which we are meeting standards), Dallas ISD is making progress on Domains II, III and IV:
- Domain II: STAAR annual improvement at satisfactory and college readiness levels
- Domain III: Reducing “academic achievement differentials” from different racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds; that is, closing the distance to a predetermined target for specific student groups
- Domain IV: Academic attainments (other than STAAR) that differ by campus level, including drop out and graduation rates, CTE sequence completion, AP course completion, TSI benchmarks and more for high schools; attendance, dropout rates and high school, college and career preparatory instruction for middle schools; and attendance for elementary schools.
Dallas ISD School Performance Framework
When evaluating their local DISD school, parents and community members should also keep an eye on the School Performance Framework that DISD is developing for Fall 2017 roll out. The goal of this measuring system will be to provide info on how well a school supports student growth and achievement.
Dallas ISD School Performance Framework uses the following six indicators:
- 40% – School Effectiveness Index
SEI is the district’s value-added growth model, which shows whether a school is growing the students it enrolls, regardless of their incoming baselines. The SEI is a good indicator of how effectively a school provides instruction. A guiding principle of Dallas ISD’s SPF is that how much a student grows is more important than where a student starts - 20% – Systems Review
The Systems Review assesses the strength of the campus in three areas: leadership, management and operations. - 10% – State Accountability Rating
State Accountability measures how well a school’s students perform on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. Under state accountability, schools must meet targets on at least three indexes to achieve “met standard:” student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps and postsecondary readiness - 10% – Staff Climate Survey
The survey provides information on what teachers and staff think about their school’s priorities, culture of feedback and support, and health of the working environment. - 10% – Parent/Guardian Survey
Every year schools ask parents and guardians for feedback about the school’s academic program, environment and communication with families. - 10% – Chronic Student Absenteeism
Research shows a strong connection between attendance and academic success. This measure reflects how well a school addresses this critical factor that can contribute to student success.
To learn more about the Dallas ISD School Performance Framework, see this section of the DISD website: