TEA releases Community and Student Engagement ratings

AUSTIN – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today released Community and Student Engagement ratings for the state’s school districts, charters and campuses.

Under House Bill 5 passed last year by the 83rd Texas Legislature, all districts and charters are required to evaluate their performance, as well as the performance of each campus, in regard to community and student engagement. Districts must assign one of four performance ratings – Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable or Unacceptable.

For 2014, more than 99 percent of school districts and campuses reported a locally-assigned Overall Performance rating of Acceptable or higher.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 347 28.3% 3,196 38.3%
Recognized 613 50.0% 3,771 45.2%
Acceptable 264 21.5% 1,343 16.1%
Unacceptable 3 0.2% 8 0.1%
N/A     30 0.4%
TOTAL 1,227 100% 8,348 100.0%
Note: N/A indicates Not Applicable

In addition to an overall rating, the district and each campus must assign a performance rating for the following categories: fine arts; wellness and physical education; community and parental involvement; 21st Century Workforce Development program; second language acquisition programs; digital learning environment; dropout prevention strategies; and educational programs for gifted and talented students.

FINE ARTS DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 413 33.7% 3,857 46.2%
Recognized 507 41.3% 2,646 31.7%
Acceptable 279 22.7% 1,468 17.6%
Unacceptable 6 0.5% 102 1.2%
N/A 22 1.8% 275 3.3%

WELLNESS/PHYSICAL ED DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 509 41.5% 4,229 50.7%
Recognized 489 39.9% 2,839 34.0%
Acceptable 216 17.6% 1,127 13.5%
Unacceptable 1 0.1% 25 0.3%
N/A 12 1.0% 128 1.5%

COMMUNITY/PARENT INVOLVEMENT DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 467 38.1% 3,987 47.8%
Recognized 485 39.5% 2,849 34.1%
Acceptable 260 21.2% 1,363 16.3%
Unacceptable 4 0.3% 49 0.6%
N/A 11 0.9% 100 1.2%

21st CENTURY WORKFORCE DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 303 24.7% 3,080 36.9%
Recognized 514 41.9% 2,585 31.0%
Acceptable 311 25.3% 1,737 20.8%
Unacceptable 8 0.7% 97 1.2%
N/A 91 7.4% 849 10.2%

SECOND LANGUAGE DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 277 22.6% 3,088 37.0%
Recognized 498 40.6% 2,925 35.0%
Acceptable 379 30.9% 1,929 23.1%
Unacceptable 13 1.1% 93 1.1%
N/A 60 4.9% 313 3.7%

DIGITAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 372 30.3% 3,075 36.8%
Recognized 515 42.0% 3,112 37.3%
Acceptable 304 24.8% 1,902 22.8%
Unacceptable 9 0.7% 123 1.5%
N/A 27 2.2% 136 1.6%

DROPOUT PREVENTION DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 493 40.2% 3,831 45.9%
Recognized 466 38.0% 2,749 32.9%
Acceptable 222 18.1% 1,317 15.8%
Unacceptable 4 0.3% 39 0.5%
N/A 42 3.4% 412 4.9%

GIFTED & TALENTED DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Locally-Assigned Rating # % # %
Exemplary 252 20.5% 2,863 34.3%
Recognized 446 36.3% 2,624 31.4%
Acceptable 402 32.8% 1,985 23.8%
Unacceptable 30 2.4% 169 2.0%
N/A 97 7.9% 707 8.5%

House Bill 5 requires a local committee or committees to determine the criteria that the district uses to evaluate and assign performance ratings and to evaluate the district’s compliance with statutory reporting and policy requirements.

While districts must assign locally-determined performance ratings for the district and all campuses in the district, ratings are not required for budgeted (non-instructional) campuses, Disciplinary Alternative Education program (DAEP) campuses, Juvenile Justice Alternative Education program (JJAEP) campuses and facilities operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Under House Bill 5, districts must also assign a Yes/No status for compliance with statutory reporting and policy requirements. 

DISTRICTS CAMPUSES
Statutory Compliance # % # %
YES 1,107 90.2% 7,906 86.6%
NO 120 9.8% 444 4.9%
N/A     779 8.5

The Texas Education Agency is required to report the performance ratings and compliance statuses on the TEA website. Districts and charters were required to have posted their locally-assigned ratings and compliance status for the district and each campus on the school district’s website by August 8, 2014. For questions regarding the process in determining locally-assigned performance ratings, contact your local school district or charter school.

Note that the Community and Student Engagement ratings are strictly locally-determined and not a part of the state’s accountability rating system or the financial accountability rating system – known as the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (School FIRST).

To see a summary of all state accountability ratings, financial accountability ratings and locally-assigned ratings, please visit the 2014 Texas Consolidated School Rating Report page on the TEA website athttp://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/tcsr/index.html .