Round Rock ISD has been named one of the few school districts in the region to receive an A rating in overall performance by the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) new A-F grading system.
During a press conference Wednesday morning at Walsh Middle School, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath shared that out of the 30 school districts with more than 40,000 students, Round Rock ISD was one of only six to earn an A rating.
“I am proud to see the hard work of our students, teachers, and principals recognized,” Superintendent of Schools Steve Flores, Ph.D. said. “We attribute our success, not to preparation for a single test, but our emphasis on engaging students through individualized curriculum and enrichment, sparking a love for learning and discovery.”
In addition to the overall A rating, 52 campuses across the District earned a collective 120 Distinctions Designations. Among the 52, Laurel Mountain, Canyon Creek, Cactus Ranch, Sommer and Herrington elementary schools and Walsh earned all distinctions possible. Morath also announced that with an overall score or 97, Walsh is the third-highest scoring campus in the state of Texas.
“Reaching this level of performance is not easy and takes very skilled educators and leadership that are focused on kids,” Morath said. “We see that kind of skilled talent and leadership here in Round Rock ISD.”
In its first year of being evaluated in the state’s A-F Accountability System, Round Rock ISD earned an A, or “Exemplary Performance.” Overall, the District’s highest ratings were in the Student Achievement domain (A), which indicates high levels of achievement on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), high rates of college and career readiness, and high graduation rates. The District earned a B or “Recognized Performance” in the School Progress domain, which indicates high numbers of students are meeting annual growth targets on STAAR reading and math. The District also earned a ‘B” in the Closing the Gaps domain, which examines success across race/ethnicity, economically disadvantaged, special education, English learner, and continuous or non-continuous enrollment student groups.
Under the A-F system, campuses are evaluated by the Texas Education Agency in three areas or “domains”: Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps. For elementary and middle schools, the ratings in each area are mostly based on STAAR assessment results, including year-to-year progress; although the Closing the Gaps domain also includes a measure of progress in English proficiency among students who are learning English. High schools and district ratings are based on these measures plus college, career and military readiness rates, graduation or dropout rates.
This is the first year districts received an A-F rating in each area, plus an overall letter grade rating. Campuses also received an overall rating of Met Standard or Needs Improvement. TEA has written and video resources available on their website for students, parents, and teachers who would like to know more.
For teachers, students, parents, and community members interested in viewing District individual campus results, they can be found on the Texas Schools result search website.
