Sixteen Austin schools fall from B to F reviews in the context of new state measures: A state takeover of the school authority of the district becomes Likelier -News

Monica Mills is the headmaster of the Rodriguez Elementary School in Southeast Austin, a school in which 98% of the students are economically disadvantaged. In 2022, Rodriguez Elementary achieved a high B in the public school reviews in Texas, the AF values ​​that show how well the schools train students. Rodriguez 'just published 2023 score is radically different. It shows the school that falls from 88 to 45 – and F.

So what happened? Has half of Rodriguez suddenly forgot students how to read, write and mathematet?

Mills explained last week at a press conference of Austin ISD that the lower score is the result of the changes in the test on which the accountability is evaluated, the state of the Texas ratings of the academic readiness (Staar).

“The test has changed,” said Mills. “The questions have changed. It went from paper to everyone. It went from Multiple Choice on several options to ask questions. It even contained a writing component or, as I should say, a writing component, since the entire Staar test was on the computer, and the results were evaluated with AI. make possible.

Mills is one of hundreds of educators in Texas who question the integrity of the new results published on April 24th. They show that 1 out of 5 Texas schools received a D or F rating in 2023 – an increase of 233% compared to the previous year, reported the Texas Tribune. According to the calculations of administrators in the Alief School District outside of Houston, 561 schools received DS and FS. In 2023, this number rose to 1,913.

Here in Austin the scores of AISD dropped from a B to a C district. Rodriguez Elementary was one of 16 AISD schools that fell from a B to an F. These newly failing schools are mainly on the east side of the city and teach economically disadvantaged children.

The educators lead the lower results to new questions about the Staar, new opportunities for testing and a new type of recording. Staar 2.0, as it is called, contains a writing component that many students do not try to complete. The evaluation methods changed and more difficult to get a good grade. As Mills noted, students from the third grade are now making the test online, so that they have to understand the dropdown menus, highlighting and keyboard-ingus that disadvantage students with low income.

“I have no confidence in the responsibility system, but I have a lot of trust in our community.” – AISD -Treuhänder Kathryn Whitley Chu

Dozens of school districts sued the tea in two lawsuits so as not to prevent the agency in 2023, and argued that the abrupt changes to the Staar had violated the state law. Daniella Deseta Lyttle, judge of Travis County, agreed and the results remained unpublished for two years. The 15th Court of Appeal, created by the Republicans in the last legislative period and filled and filled by governor Greg Abbott's handpicked judges, allowed tea to publish the reviews in April in 2023. The 2024 reviews are still in the queue.

These reviews are also expected. AISD officials believe that Dobie Middle School will receive its fourth in a row if the 2024 results are published. The Middle Schools from Webb and Burnet are expected to receive their third F -FS in a row. This is dangerous because the state law allows tea to take over a district that has done in Houston ISD when one of the schools achieves five consecutive FS.

AISD officials fear that Dobie could achieve his fifth time in a row at the end of the next school year. They consider three options for school: they bring in a charter school to take over their administration; close permanently; or two years close and reopen. The third choice seems to be the preferred option. Last week, the headmaster proposed a plan to drive about 300-500 students from Dobie on the overcrowded campus of the Lamar Middle School in the next two years with the 1,100 student campus.

Kathryn Whitley Chu represents Lamar in the AISD curatorium. She asked the district administrators at the last week board meeting to make the worst scenarios available to her community that participate in the Dobie Plan and how to approach. “I have no confidence in the responsibility system, but I have a lot of trust in our community, especially because everyone is paying attention to it,” said Whitley Chu. “In the past, we could live in separate worlds and don't worry about something that affects another school. We are no longer at that moment.”

The trustee Candace Hunter, who represents the Dobie community, said she wanted to examine a fourth option with high risk: keeping Dobie open and trying to bring his accounting points to an existing note. It is an idea that Dobies students stay in their neighborhood when they are successful and would keep the state of Texas away from Austin's schools. “People say: 'Wait a minute, what are you doing?' Yes, I set everything on orange, ”said Hunter, referring to Dobie's school color.