TEA ratings released

Brian Smith

news@jacksboronewspapers.com

BRYSON – School officials here are ecstatic about the district being given an ‘A’ rating with a score of 91 by the Texas Education Agency.

Ratings had not been given since the 2018-2019 school year when the district received a score of 83, according to Bryson ISD Superintendent Greg London. Grades, which were released on Aug. 15, were last given in the 2017-18 school year.

COVID-19 and student absences were the reason why no ratings had been given by the TEA the last few years.

Throughout the state, 33% of districts earned an ‘A’ rating, according to TEA. The ‘A’ rating is given to the top 25% to 30% of districts in the state. London said he thought the district had a pretty good chance of getting an ‘A’ rating.

This measures how much students are learning in each grade and whether or not they are ready for the next grade. It also shows how well a school or district prepares their students for success after high school in college, the workforce, or the military.

Districts are rated on student achievement, school progress and closing gaps among student groups, London said. Having in-house intervention plans was a major reason for the increase.

London explained school staff came together for 45 minutes at the end of the day to ensure progress was being made from previous years.

“Even if a student does a little better, it’s still worth points to the district,” London noted. “It works conversely, however. If a student mastered an area and slips, points can be taken away.”

He noted having junior high students do a double block of math and reading also helped.

He said teachers, paraprofessionals and students all worked very hard to get the rating.

“We have a highly qualified staff,” London said.

A story on both Jacksboro ISD and Perrin- Whitt CISD ratings will be in the Wednesday, Aug. 31 edition.