Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles has announced that, if a new grading system by the Texas Education Agency had not been blocked, 52 schools in the district would have seen F grades, painting a grim picture of academic performance. This comes after a state judge barred education officials from pressing forward with the new system in October. The TEA's scrapped methodology would have meant that nearly 40% of HISD's schools would have been slapped with either D or F labels, based on last year's data.
The staggering numbers show a steep rise from previous estimates, with 111 schools in the district receiving either D's or F's, more than double the number projected back in August. According to an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Miles stated, "We have a lot of schools that are struggling." Over half of these failing schools fall under or are aligned with Miles' New Education System, which suggests that these institutions might be due for the "wholesale systemic reform" Miles claims to champion.
HISD chose to forge ahead by releasing its own A through F accountability scores using the same controversial methodology that was poised to be implemented by the TEA—a move that revealed a mere 35 schools in the HISD achieved A ratings. The data disclosed by HISD also highlighted that 64 schools received a C, 58 schools got a B, and a combination of 111 schools were slapped with D's and F's, as per KTRK. A trial is set for February to decide if the TEA will have the green light to release these grades.
Miles stated in his interview with the Houston Chronicle that it has been evident for a quarter century with little improvement. "Our proficiency is low, and the (achievement) gap hasn't changed in 25 years," he said. "It's a confirmation, so we don't have to spend a lot of time arguing about each detail of the accountability system. What we do need to focus on is what does this say about our students' ability to read, do math and science at grade level."
