TEA releases details on how it will grade schools using STAAR

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The Texas Education Agency released the framework for how it will use State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness scores and other measures to dole out accountability ratings to schools on Tuesday, the same day students across the Lone Star state began taking the state-mandated battery of tests.

The state's accountability system will measure academic performance in three areas: student achievement, school progress and closing achievement gaps.

Measuring student achievement will be based solely on how well students scored on the STAAR test in elementary and middle school. At the high school level, STAAR scores will count for 40 percent of a school's accountability rating. Another 40 percent of high school accountability will be based on college- and career-readiness, and 20 percent will be based on graduation or dropout rates.

School progress will be measured by how much students improved their STAAR scores from the previous year or how well schools maintained passing scores. High school ratings also will take into account student progress in terms of college- and career-readiness.

The final measure will calculate how well historically disadvantaged groups, such as racial minorities, English-language learners and economically disadvantaged students, perform on STAAR tests and college- and career-readiness measures.

The changes come after lawmakers approved a new accountability rating system in the 2017 legislative session, which mandates the TEA assign A-through-F letter grades to schools and districts statewide. Districts will receive the letter grades in fall, while individual schools will be given the new ratings in fall of 2019.

Districts that earn an A, B, C or D will have met the state's academic standards, while those earning F marks do not.

The TEA also announced that it will not decide whether to grant accountability waivers to districts affected by Hurricane Harvey until June.

shelby.webb@chron.com

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