Ruling: Release of A-F school ratings allowed for 2023
Texas has gone five years without fully publishing A-F academic accountability ratings, which are vital for fostering student progress, transparency and continuous improvement in public schools. A coalition of Texas leaders representing parents, businesses and education nonprofits filed an amicus brief in Morath v. Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District urging the 15th Court of Appeals to lift the injunction preventing the release of these critical ratings.
Today, April 3, 2025, the 15th Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Morath v. Kingsville ISD, a separate case challenging the 2023 A-F academic accountability ratings, lifting the injunction that prevents the Texas Education Agency from releasing those ratings. Good Reason Houston and leaders across state say they hope their brief can provide additional context to support a similar result for the 2024 accountability ratings currently pending before the court in Morath v. Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District.
“Today is a victory for transparency, for accountability and most importantly, for Texas students,” Good Reason Houston CEO Cary Wright said. “ With this decision, we take a crucial step toward ensuring every family, every educator and every community has the information they need to build stronger schools. But our work is not done. We must continue strengthening and refining our accountability system, and that includes securing the release of the 2024 results. We will continue partnering with lawmakers, district leaders and communities because when our schools thrive, our kids thrive. And when our kids thrive, Texas moves forward.”
The case for A-F ratings
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data underscore the need for clear information on public school performance to propel academic progress. Texas currently ranks in the bottom 25% of states in 4th grade reading, which drops to 12% for 8th grade. A-F ratings allow for comparisons between school districts across the state to identify scalable bright spots and areas for improvement that need additional support.
“We can’t hope to improve our education system if we aren’t clear-eyed about our current outcomes,” said Commit Partnership Founding Chairman and CEO Todd Williams, “Without these letter grades, students remain on failing campuses that otherwise could have received greater resources and interventions — and we also lose the ability to celebrate the schools and systems that see remarkable improvement and sustained success.”
The amicus brief filed by the organizations highlighted the negative impacts of withholding A-F ratings, emphasizing the needs of stakeholders who depend on school performance data:
- Students: Academic ratings track how well school systems are meeting student academic needs and drive improvements in learning outcomes to eliminate achievement gaps for students and prepare them for success after graduation.
- Parents: Clear, accessible information about their child’s school performance helps families make informed decisions and advocate for necessary educational resources.
- School Districts & Community Partners: The A-F system enables school districts and their network of partners to identify underperforming campuses and allocate resources to support better outcomes.
- Businesses: Employers rely on A-F ratings to attract and retain qualified workers in the communities where they operate and ensure a pipeline of qualified employees.
- The Public: The system provides every Texan with a tool to monitor progress and ensure public funds are used effectively to improve public education.
It’s time to release 2024 performance scores
While the organizations defer to the court system and the parties to the lawsuit to resolve the underlying dispute, they emphasized that depriving the public of school performance information for the 1,200-plus school districts in the state is not an appropriate solution.
“Parents, students and community leaders have not had a full accounting of these important measures of school performance since the 2018-19 school year,” said Texas 2036 Education and Workforce Policy Director Mary Lynn Pruneda. “While we are gratified to see the judges agree on the importance of releasing accountability scores for 2023, continuing to withhold these performance scores for 2024 is making a lasting impact on Texas families as they try to prepare the next generation for success as they graduate high school.”
To view the court order, click here.