Five Dallas ISD schools saw higher A-F accountability grades after district officials learned that thousands of students were awarded marks that were too low on the state standardized test. <\/p>\n
When Dallas ISD asked the Texas Education Agency to rescore over 5,000 STAAR tests <\/a>earlier this year, more than one-third of the exams they submitted for review came back with higher scores. <\/p>\n Each test carries weight, as STAAR results fuel the state\u2019s academic accountability system, which assigns A-F grades to every school and district. <\/p>\n Related:What are Texas\u2019 A-F school grades, and why do they matter?<\/a><\/p>\n The Education Lab<\/p>\n The rescored responses caused five Dallas ISD schools to earn higher A-F grades compared to the district\u2019s initial projections before the review, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said. <\/p>\n Young Men\u2019s Leadership Academy was projected to receive an F for the second year in row, Elizalde said. Failing ratings can trigger significant consequences if the school doesn\u2019t improve quickly, including the possibility of a state takeover. <\/p>\n After 44 STAAR tests from the campus were rescored, 18 came back with additional points. The school ultimately received a D. <\/p>\n The other schools that improved were John Lewis Social Justice Academy, which went from a D to C, Seagoville Elementary from a C to B, Henry B. Gonzalez Personalized Learning Academy from a C to B, and Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy from a B to A. <\/p>\n Last year, district officials requested the review<\/a> of more than 4,600 STAAR tests and roughly 43% came back with additional points. <\/p>\n Related:Dallas ISD asked Texas to rescore thousands of STAAR tests; about one-third went up<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt does not appear to me that this is a one-off,\u201d Elizalde said. \u201cLast year might have been, but now I\u2019ve got two years in a row. Once is an outlier, twice is a pattern.\u201d <\/p>\n To Elizalde, the improved A-F grades demonstrate that Texas needs to work with districts to recalibrate how it grades its STAAR exams. <\/p>\n Otherwise, she said, district officials and families will lose confidence in the state\u2019s evaluations of educators, students and schools. Parents often consider the A-F ratings when deciding where to enroll their children. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s way too many discrepancies,\u201d Elizalde said. <\/p>\n TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky said the improved scores show the STAAR rescoring system is working as it should. The agency does not caculate schools\u2019 accountability ratings until after the rescore window closes. <\/p>\n Texas students took more than 3 million reading tests last school year. So far, roughly 21,600 of those have been submitted for rescoring and nearly 6,200 \u2014 28% \u2014 saw changes. <\/p>\n The agency does not allow students\u2019 scores to be lowered during a review. The number of points can either go up or remain unchanged.<\/p>\n \u201cTEA continues to accept rescore requests,\u201d Kobersky said in a statement Thursday. \u201cIf school district leaders believe this could change their accountability rating, they may appeal that rating.\u201d<\/p>\n The improved ratings come as frustration over the way Texas uses computers to grade student essays on STAAR tests has continued to mount. When tests are rescored, a human reviews them. <\/p>\n