Houston – As students head back to school, families may be paying closer attention to their local school’s A-F accountability rating. While a letter grade can provide a quick snapshot of how a school is performing, local non-profit Good Reason Houston say it is only one piece of a much bigger picture.
The accountability system looks at several areas, including student achievement, academic progress and how schools are closing gaps among different student groups. The goal is to give parents and communities a clearer understanding of the educational experience happening in classrooms and where additional support may be needed.
There is encouraging progress across the Houston region. This year, 71% of students are attending A- or B-rated schools, compared with 44% in 2003.
Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Kregg Cuellar says his district is among those seeing significant improvement. The district increased its rating by 11 points in one year, moving from a low D to a high C. It also reduced the number of F-rated campuses by 82%. The district says students also showed increased levels of learning across math, reading, science and social studies.
Officials say some of the progress can be attributed to a focus on college, career and military readiness outcomes. The next step is understanding which practices are helping students grow and finding ways to build on that progress across every campus.
But people like Good Reason Houston chief advancement officer Kaneisha Lloyd stress that a school’s letter grade does not capture everything happening in a school. Student safety, emotional needs, relationships, partnerships and other opportunities are also important parts of the whole-child experience. The rating provides a starting point for conversations about student outcomes, but it does not tell the entire story.
Ultimately, accountability ratings are meant to help schools, families and communities understand where students are succeeding and where additional support may be needed. As the new school year gets underway, those results can help educators plan interventions, resources and support to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed.