BOWIE COUNTY, Texas - Four Bowie County school districts received overall grades of A and two of its school districts received an F in the most recent round of the Texas Education Agency's accountability ratings.
Pleasant Grove, Malta, Red Lick and Redwater independent school districts received overall grades of A for their academic performance, which is based on three elements: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps.
Though it is the second year Texas' school districts have received letter grades for accountability based on standardized testing, this is the first year Texas' public schools have received letter grades for their students' academic performance.
Each campus in Texas' public school districts also received a letter grade.
Pleasant Grove and Red Lick ISDs earned As in accountability for the second time.
"We are proud of the test results" Superintendent Chad Pirtle stated in a press release. "In addition to the ratings, I am even more proud of the well-rounded education our students receive and the success our students and staff experience on a daily basis."
Redwater inched up from a B last year to an A and Malta moved up from a C last year to an A, according to the TEA website.
At the lower end of the scale, Hubbard and Leary independent school districts, with fewer than 110 students each, received overall district grades of F.
This is the second year Leary has earned an F from the state and the first year Hubbard has earned an F rating. Last year, Hubbard had a B in the grade-letter ratings, according to TEA.
Despite the rating, Jennifer Dear, Leary superintendent, said the district was proud of what their students and teachers have achieved.
"At Leary ISD, we are very proud of our students' and teachers' accomplishments, but we will continue to advocate for the establishment of a more comprehensive, community-based public school accountability system and not one solely based on a state test given one day," Dear wrote in a statement. "In regard to our district rating, it does not reflect all of the outstanding work happening in our school system. However, we do now have a baseline in order to trek our future growth. Our campus is doing great work on behalf of all of our children."
She added the district is a strong believer in innovation, leadership, critical thinking and problem-solving.
"One letter-grade based on one day does not accurately reflect our students and teachers," she said. "We believe our parents want their children to do rigorous, engaging work that sparks a lifelong love of learning, not prep for a multiple-choice test that colleges and businesses don't even consider."
Dear also said Leary ISD is one of many districts that oppose the A-F ratings.
"In 2016-17, nearly 600 school district boards of trustees representing 2.87 million students, as well as a number of chambers of commerce and statewide organizations, adopted resolutions opposing the A-F school rating system," she said. "Leary ISD is very proud of our school's accomplishments in state and federal accountability. We are not where we want to be, but we are getting stronger every day."
The remaining school districts in Bowie County received overall grades of B, including Texarkana ISD repeating its B from last year.
"We are proud of students and staff at TISD for the consistency of maintaining a B-rating for the past two years," TISD Superintendant Paul Norton said. "We are happy to be showing an increase in text scores as compared to last year.
"Always remember that student assessments are only a piece of what students accomplish each and every day at TISD campuses."
Liberty-Eylau improved from an overall grade of C last year to a B this year, according to TEA records.
L-E Superintendent Ronnie Thompson said the improvement was the result of hard work by staff and students.
"It's due to teachers putting in a lot of hard work, whether it's tutorials or extra academic support in math or reading, which is what the majority of the tests they take are on," he said. "Overall, we are proud of the increase and will continue to look at that and progress."
Thompson said the ratings are similar to how the state used to evaluate districts before the A-F system was implemented.
"Unfortunately, it's the same, based mostly on standardized testing, which again, history tells you statistically you can figure out the grade by looking at the poverty level at your school," he said. "There are many great schools in the area which offer more than just testing."
Thompson said that extracurricular activities including art, band, clubs and athletics are possibly more important than test scores.
"With extracurricular activities, it is more about social-interaction leadership skills than any standardized test score could measure," he said. "I think that goes further in life than a standardized test score."
The district ratings and individual campus ratings can be seen at txschools.org.
BOX INFORMATION
Closing the gaps counts for 30% of the letter score and the other 70% is determined by which score is higher of the two remaining domains-student achievement and school progress.
Student achievement is calculated by using STAAR scores; college, career and military readiness; and graduation rates. Student achievement scores for elementary schools are determined by using only the STAAR results.
School progress is determined by student academic growth and school performance as compared to similar schools and campuses.
Closing the gaps is based on academic achievement, federal graduation or growth status, English language proficiency and school quality or student success, with each weighted according to district or campus type.
The district ratings and individual campus ratings can be seen at txschools.org. Below are the district ratings.
A OVERALL
Pleasant Grove ISD
2,154 students, four schools
Overall Grade: A
Student achievement: A
School progress: A
Closing the gaps: B
Malta ISD
229 students
Overall Grade: A
Student achievement: A
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: A
Red Lick ISD
500 students, two schools
Overall Grade: A
Student achievement: A
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: A
Redwater ISD
1,130 students, four schools
Overall Grade: A
Student achievement: A
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: B
B OVERALL
Liberty-Eylau ISD
2,465 students, four schools
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: C
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: C
Texarkana ISD
7,167 students, 12 schools
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: B
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: B
DeKalb ISD
799 students, three schools
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: B
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: C
Hooks ISD
908 students, three schools
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: A
School progress: A
Closing the gaps: B
Maud ISD
467 students
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: B
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: C
New Boston ISD
1,274 students, four schools
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: B
School progress: B
Closing the gaps: C
Simms ISD
516 students, three schools
Overall Grade: B
Student achievement: B
School progress: A
Closing the gaps: B
F OVERALL
Hubbard ISD
107 students
Overall Grade: F
Student achievement: F
School progress: D
Closing the gaps: F
Leary ISD
119 students
Overall Grade: F
Student achievement: D
School progress: D
Closing the gaps: F
(Source: Texas Education Agency. All enrollment figures are for the 2018-19 school year.)