How did individual campuses perform in Fort Worth ISD’s self-reported and calculated A-F accountability ratings for 2023 and 2024?

Fort Worth ISD released estimated A-F ratings Sept. 10, though grades remain preliminary due to legal issues blocking the Texas Education Agency from releasing official ratings.

More than half of Fort Worth ISD schools saw their state-issued accountability rating jump in 2024, according to unofficial, self-reported grades. The district scored worse than it did in 2022, the last year TEA released official ratings.

Out of Fort Worth ISD’s 125 campuses, 51 improved their A-F ratings by one or more letter grade, while 56 saw no change and 18 saw their scores slip, according to data released by the district.

Numbers from 2022 paint a different picture. The district’s overall rating was a B — compared to its estimated C rating now — and 69 campuses were rated a letter grade higher that year than they were in 2024.

The ratings are calculated using a formula largely based on standardized testing results; graduation rates; and college, career and military readiness outcomes, according to the TEA. 

The accountability rating system examines three major areas for schools and districts: 

• Student achievement: State standardized test performance, graduation rates and career readiness form the basis of this measure.
• School progress: This shows how students perform over time and how a school’s performance compares to other schools with similar levels of low-income students.
• Closing the gaps: This measure examines whether all students are successful.

The rating system also examines relative performance, which measures student progress relative to schools with similar economic demographics.

In the release, the district did not say whether it certified its internal calculations with the state. Nearby Castleberry ISD, which was the first Tarrant County school district to independently release its results, said it verified its unofficial ratings with the TEA.

Fort Worth ISD attributed its rating drop from 2022 to more rigorous state standardized testing and other changes to the TEA’s scoring rubric. Districts suing the state to block the release of ratings have also argued that the changes have unfairly hurt their scores. 

The overhaul of the A-F rating system included heavier weights on college, career and military readiness outcomes and places a greater focus on closing the gaps.

Ratings are found by taking a combination of scores received from those three major areas, plus relative performance. Schools with scores of 90 and higher are rated A, campuses rated 80 and above are rated B and so forth. However, if a campus receives a score less than 60 in three out of four of those categories, TEA requires the school to receive an F, even if its overall score is higher than 60.

Similarly, if a campus receives scores less than 70 in three out of four of those categories, that school has to receive a D, even if its overall score is higher than 70, according to the TEA.

Fort Worth ISD only released topline scores for schools, not detailed data explaining the smaller categories.

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1.

Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez. 

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