2015 Tarrant school ratings: what you should know

All Tarrant County school districts received passing marks under the state’s accountability ratings, but a handful of schools missed the benchmark, according to results released Friday by the Texas Education Agency.

Under the system — which is based on measurements such as standardized test scores, graduation rates and student readiness for college or work — districts and their schools are rated either “met standard or “improvement required.” (Campus ratings are based on student achievement/student progress, closing achievement gaps and college/career readiness.)

Tarrant-area districts rated “met standard” were Aledo, Arlington, Azle, Birdville, Burleson, Carroll, Castleberry, Crowley, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Everman, Fort Worth, Grapevine-Colleyville, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Keller, Lake Worth, Mansfield, Northwest, Weatherford and White Settlement.

‘Improvement required’

According to preliminary results reviewed by the Star-Telegram, 29 schools — 10 fewer than last year — in the Arlington, Crowley, Everman, Fort Worth and Lake Worth school districts were rated “improvement required.” Twenty-one of those are in the Fort Worth school district.

Arlington had three of the schools — Adams, Berry and Wimbish elementaries — as did Crowley with Poynter, Parkway and Meadowcreek elementaries. Everman’s Townley Elementary and Lake Worth’s Miller Elementary also received the rating, state records show.

In Fort Worth, O.D. Wyatt High School and Forest Oak Middle School were rated “improvement required,” as were elementary schools Sunrise-McMillian, Hazel Harvey Peace, De Zavala, S.S. Dillow, Eastern Hills, Christene Moss, Mitchell Boulevard, A.M. Pate, Clifford Davis, West Handley, International Newcomers Academy, Como, Maude Logan, John T. White, Harlean Beal, Maudrie M. Walton, Westcreek, T.A. Sims and I.M. Terrell.

Schools repeatedly rated “improvement required” face federal and state sanctions, including removing administrators and teachers and allowing students to transfer to other schools.

State improvement

More than 1,200 public school districts and charter schools fall under the state’s accountability system. The ratings include more than 8,600 elementary, middle and high schools statewide.

Some 94.4 percent of the state’s school districts and charter schools “met standard,” and 4.7 percent were rated “improvement required.” This year’s student scores on the math portion of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness for grades 3-8 were not part of the accountability scores, state officials said.

“The 2015 state accountability system takes into account a number of factors unique to the 2014-2015 school year,” state Education Commissioner Michael Williams said in a news release. “As in previous years, most districts, charters and campuses met the state standard, which reflects well on our public education system and for the economic future of our state.”

Making strides

In Fort Worth, a dozen of the 21 campuses that did not meet standards missed it by one or two points, Fort Worth officials said.

“We are very concerned about the number of elementary schools rated ‘improvement required,’” interim Superintendent Pat Linares said in a statement. But she said even schools that didn’t meet the mark show signs of improvement.

All but one elementary school, for example, met the index that measures student progress, Linares said.

“This suggests that achievement in our elementary schools is moving in the right direction,” Linares said.

Arlington Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos said he was pleased with the district’s showing on the state’s accountability system.

He was most pleased that three schools — Sam Houston High School, Newcomer Center and Webb Elementary School — were rated “met standard” after being rated “improvement required” last year.

“I am proud of the work of our staff and students that has gone into the progress and success of our district,” Cavazos said in a statement.

Only two Tarrant districts — Carroll and Hurst-Euless-Bedford — received a distinction for postsecondary readiness. The distinction is based on graduation rates, ACT/SAT participation and scores, career and technical education graduates and dual-credit-course completion rates, according to the TEA.

This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 4:14 PM with the headline "2015 Tarrant school ratings: what you should know."