TYLER, Texas — The Texas Education Agency will release their annual accountability grades for the 2018-2019 school year.
Overall, Tyler ISD improved its grade from a C to a B.
"We had a good solid school year. We’ve had some continuous improvement over the last five and six years, and last year was no different," TISD Superintendent Marty Crawford said. "Of course, what makes those district ratings up are the individual campus ratings, as well. We had some good stories come out of individual campuses, also.”
Crawford one of the successes that led to the district receiving a higher grade is the district's college and military readiness programs.
"Another thing is our advanced placement programs, our college-prep programs," Crawford said. "We outpace the state of Texas in 19 of 26 advanced placement exams where our students are passing at a 3 or better. That includes our charters, our private and our public schools."
In all, six schools raised their grades from 2017-2018 to 2018-2019, 14 schools saw no change and six schools saw their grades decrease. The average of all schools is a C, including two A's for Jack Elementary and ECHS and an F for Hogg Middle School.
“I think academic performance ratings at the end of the school year, they’re not the end-all by any means," Crawford said. "One test on one day is not going to determine whether or not we’re actually performing well or not. It’s a process."
However, Crawford says this year's ratings shows the amount of improvement made by the district in the past years.
"To go from 11 'Improvement Required' campuses down to, we actually had one this year, has been something that’s been quite a journey," Crawford said. "But at the same time, I hope our community appreciates the hard work and effort of our administration, our staff and our teachers to make sure that those accountability ratings are acceptable for them.”
The grades will officially be released later this week.