Photo: Tetra images RF
After lengthy court battles, the Texas Education Agency is finally set to release the 2024 and 2025A-F ratings for its schools and districts, thanks to an injunction from the Travis County District Court being overturned by the 15th Circuit Court of Appeals.
This will be the first time the ratings, which are meant to hold schools and school districts accountable, will be released since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, the data won't be released until this Friday, meaning it won't be of much use to parents, administrators, or teachers this year.
Mandy Drogin, a campaign director with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, is calling out the fact that the data is being released so late in the year, saying, "What are parents, and even teachers, supposed to do with that information after everything is all set up and committed to?"
She thinks this delay is an intentional move to cover up the failures of the public school system. She said, "It is wrong that the system is constantly set up to hide from parents how their children are doing, and why they are performing in that way."
Drogin went on to call for more transparency in the public school system, especially with the A-F grades, saying, "The only way that society can help, the only way that parents can help, to support the specific changes that need to happen, is if we can see where the problems are."
She also shared concerns that there could be attempts to cover up or delay grades in future years, unless clear policy changes are made.