Arlington ISD earned a C on its latest academic accountability ratings, which grade how well schools are educating students.<\/p>\n
Friday, the Texas Education Agency released the A-F ratings for public schools across the state for both 2024 and 2025. Overall, Arlington ISD and Kennedale ISD saw moderate improvements in the two years, while Mansfield ISD inched closer to becoming an A district.<\/p>\n
Arlington schools Superintendent Matt Smith said the ratings don\u2019t tell the full story of the district\u2019s progress because of scoring errors from the agency. The district is appealing its state grades because of the errors, which he said could result in improved ratings for nearly a third of Arlington ISD\u2019s campuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want our community to know the real data on how we did,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In late June, Arlington ISD requested that the agency rescore a portion of STAAR tests taken by students. Sections of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness are now scored by computers rather than humans<\/a>, a practice that began in 2024.<\/p>\n In July, the district was notified of an error on the back end of the TEA\u2019s rescoring software. As a result, those tests were not taken into account for the 2025 ratings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Districts have 30 days<\/a> to file an appeal on the ratings. Smith, who has led Arlington schools since early 2024, said he is proud of the work the district has done in raising academic performance, but remains focused on improving it even further.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou combine the fact that we\u2019re wired, as a district, to be better and constantly try to improve, and then be able to have a little bit of time under our belts to see what we really need to hone in on,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI think that\u2019s making a difference.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n !function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}})}();<\/p>\n In 2023, 16 campuses were rated F under the agency\u2019s A-F system. This year, nine campuses failed.\u00a0<\/p>\n While more work must be done to lift the F-rated campuses, lowering the number of schools failing is a step in the right direction, Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n One key to the change has been a data-driven approach that allows principals and a team of executive directors to look for areas of improvement, Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all of our responsibility to be better for the sake of the kids, and that machine we have for improvement in our system is starting to take hold,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith has not shied away from criticizing the way Texas grades schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the elementary and junior high level, the ratings are based solely<\/a> on STAAR test performance. At the high school level<\/a>, the ratings are based on academic success, graduation rates and how well students are prepared for life after high school.<\/p>\n Smith agrees that schools should be held accountable. However, ratings based on STAAR alone do not capture the full picture of a school\u2019s success, Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wish there was a way in our accountability system and state testing to tell the full story of a school, where we are and what we are,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t exist in the current A-F system.\u201d<\/p>\n Mansfield ISD excelled in the ratings. Overall, it received a B grade. The district saw the number of A-rated campuses rise from nine to 20 between 2023 and 2025.<\/p>\n None of its 46 schools received an F in the 2025 ratings.\u00a0<\/p>\n !function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}})}();<\/p>\n Mansfield ISD Superintendent Kimberley Cantu said that the results were outstanding.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the case of Mansfield ISD, our community can be very, very proud of its schools,\u201d Cantu said in a statement. \u201cI know I am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kennedale ISD also saw improvement in its district ratings. While it maintained a C grade for the district, its overall score increased from a 73 in 2024 to a 77 in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n R.F. Patterson Elementary went from a D in 2023 to a B in 2025, while Kennedale Junior High went from a B to a C in the same time frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n A legal battle<\/a> over the state\u2019s accountability system, including the Texas Education Agency\u2019s use of computer scoring, delayed last year\u2019s results.<\/p>\n !function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}})}();<\/p>\n To find more details on how the districts did, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a developing story and will be updated frequently.<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n