While visiting North East ISD\u2019s Harmony Hills Elementary on Friday, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said it\u2019s a system that reveals the gaps between what students know and don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n
Morath maintains that any school, regardless of poverty rates or racial makeup, can earn an A rating. Harmony Hills went from a score of 77 to a 91 this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a high-level of growth for a broad group of students,\u201d Morath said. Most students at the school are Hispanic and 75% of students are considered economically disadvantaged by the state. <\/p>\n
Across the state, nearly a third of campuses improved their letter grade while most campuses maintained their previous ratings. Only 15% of Texas campuses saw a decline.<\/p>\n
San Antonio schools followed the same trend of overall improvement with only a handful receiving lower ratings.<\/p>\n
San Antonio area school districts see some improvement<\/p>\n
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More than a third of public school districts in the San Antonio area, charter and traditional, saw an improved score. Only three ISDs went up a letter grade \u2014 East Central ISD, San Antonio ISD and Shertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD.<\/p>\n
Notably, the biggest improvement was seen by East Central ISD, which has a student enrollment of more than 12,000. Last year, the district earned a 63, and this year the state scored the district a 72, or a C rating. No campus within ECISD received an F rating this year either. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis momentum is real \u2014 and we\u2019re just getting started,\u201d said ECISD Superintendent Roland Toscano in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n
San Antonio\u2019s three largest school districts \u2014 San Antonio ISD, Northside ISD and North East ISD \u2014 all got C ratings. SAISD improved from last year to this year, going from a 69 to a 72. In 2023, SAISD had received a C.<\/p>\n
Only two school districts, Fort Sam Houston ISD and Lackland ISD both located on military bases, have A ratings.<\/p>\n
Local charter schools districts see biggest gains<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2025-charter-ratings.png\")
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Larger gains in the area were seen by local charter districts. Southwest Preparatory Schools, which has six schools, went from a D-rating to a C-rating.<\/p>\n
Promesa Academy Charter School, which only has one campus on the West Side with less than 300 students, went from an F-rating to a C-rating. Jubilee Academies, which has a handful of campuses in San Antonio, went from a C to a B.<\/p>\n
At least three charter districts in the area went down a letter grade by a few points.<\/p>\n
A-F rating system could change<\/p>\n
Released at the same time as the 2024-25 ratings, the 2023-24 ratings came out a year late because the data was caught up in court proceedings, a result of some school districts trying to block the state from releasing the scores<\/a>.<\/p>\n The school districts\u2019 reasoning: the Texas Education Agency went too far in updating the benchmarks that measure college readiness. State law requires the agency to update the rating system every five years, and ultimately, a judge ruled that Morath did not overstep when he updated the system<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some education policy experts say a consistent accountability rating system is necessary across the state, and had previously put pressure on state courts to release ratings for the 2023-24 and 2022-23 school years, which involved separate lawsuits filed by school districts looking to block ratings from coming out.<\/p>\n Families are allowed to request a school transfer if the campus their student attends has a low rating. <\/p>\n District officials, however, say state ratings do not reflect the full scope of academic effectiveness since they rely heavily on state standardized testing. <\/p>\n \u201cWe know that every school in NISD, regardless of its Texas Education Agency rating, is dedicated to continuous improvement,\u201d said Barry Perez, a spokesperson for the district, which has an enrollment of roughly 99,000 students and 127 campuses.<\/p>\n NISD\u2019s kept the same letter rating, though it dropped by one point compared to last year. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NISDFirstDay_RawlinsonMiddleSchool_06_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Rawlinson Middle School teachers welcome students to campus with waves, cheers and a hand-made sign during morning drop-off on the first day of school Aug. 11, 2025.
\n Credit: Amber Esparza for the San Antonio Report<\/p>\n