The Texas Education Agency dropped not one, but two years of A-F accountability ratings last week, marking the third release in just one calendar year. The results are based on STAAR exams now partly scored by artificial intelligence and under new, controversial standards rolled out by Commissioner Mike Morath. Texas AFT has long opposed this arbitrary system, which puts undue stress on students, penalizes teachers, and punishes schools instead of helping them grow.
The consequences are real. In Austin ISD, 16 campuses plunged from a B to an F virtually overnight under the new formula, and Fort Worth ISD is now at risk of state takeover. Schools that receive consecutive failing grades face options ranging from charter conversions to outright state control. As Texas AFT President Zeph Capo put it: “Just as students’ growth can’t be captured by one day of high-stakes testing, a school’s A-F rating cannot encapsulate everything a school offers its students.”
At the same time, state leaders are crowing about Houston ISD’s scores under state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles. But parents know the truth: those “gains” came from holding students back, shuffling them into easier classes, and stripping schools of joy and creativity. The result? Families are leaving HISD in droves, frustrated with a system that values test scores over authentic learning.
Parents, educators, and communities continue to demand an end to this deeply unpopular test-and-punish regime. True accountability should reflect the full picture of what schools provide, not just a snapshot on a standardized exam.
This is why House Bill 8, the STAAR “reform” bill heard this week in a Texas House committee, is such a disappointment. The bill remove key, bipartisan provisions from the regular session’s House Bill 4 that would have broadened the indicators that inform A-F ratings, measuring more than just test scores and included real student success metrics like participation in extracurriculars, pre-K, and career and technical education.
As it stands, HB 8, which passed the House Public Education Committee on Thursday, increases the number of tests administered, consolidates more power with the TEA commissioner, and takes away districts’ means to challenge the accountability system in court. We oppose HB 8, and we encourage members to make sure their representative hears from them too.