Hillsboro ISD hopeful that TEA ratings will be released, anticipating ‘A’ ratings

HILLSBORO, Texas (KWTX) - Texas school districts will now have to wait three more weeks until a Travis County judge decides whether or not to block the Texas Education Agency from releasing this year’s ratings of school districts.

The Travis County District Court told KWTX the hearing that was scheduled for Aug. 26 is delayed until Sept. 16.

Hillsboro ISD is one of the school districts that wants this year’s accountability ratings to be released.

Hillsboro ISD Superintendent Darrell Brown said at least two of its four schools are anticipating ‘A’ ratings.

In 2022, Hillsboro Elementary received a ‘C’ rating and Hillsboro Intermediate received a ‘D’ rating.

Since then, Hillsboro Elementary Principal Kimberly Carter said they have been intentionally altering training, staffing and communication to improve learning and achievement among students.

“It was really just being intentional, making sure that they felt their worth, building a campus culture, making sure that we were coaching where they needed to be coached, being able to set the clear expectations, making sure that we were very clear on our goals and our strategic planning, just a lot of just tweaking and adjusting,” Carter said.

Hillsboro Intermediate Principal Stephanie Tucker said they initiated similar adjustments, joining the Texas Instructional Leadership Framework through Region 12.

“We’ve actually been working with them through that process over the last four years,” she said. “In that process, there was strategic planning. There’s an effective schools framework we’ve put in. There’s campus culture routines. There’s also lots of data-driven instruction. And, through that, we’ve created planning meetings and different things we do very intentionally to where our teachers fully understand their lessons and the standards.”

He said he got a call from the Commissioner of Education called him in early August, saying the TEA is anticipating high ratings for the elementary and intermediate schools, showing major progress.

When the judge blocked the TEA from releasing the ratings, Brown said the district was disappointed.

"The disappointment was not being able to share those right away,” Brown said. “You just want the official result. For our staff members, our students, and our community, we can still tell the story, but we’re anxious to be able to do it in an official way.”

He said STAAR test results show students met or exceeded the state standard, so the district can still show its improvements. However, it cannot show the change from a ‘C’ or ‘D’ rating in 2022 to ‘A’ ratings in 2024 just yet.

For now, Brown and the principals will continue to share the positive improvement of the schools and the district as they anxiously wait for ratings to be released.

Some Central Texas school districts support the lawsuit and agree that the ratings should be blocked.

In past interviews, school districts said the TEA unlawfully changed the guidelines without giving them time to adjust.

Brown said the district has accepted the changed guidelines.

“Sometimes there are some factors that it feels like maybe the rating of the score doesn’t necessarily reflect exactly how your students performed, primarily when it’s based on STAAR and especially in the lower grades, it’s a little more straightforward,” he said. “It’s really about how your students performed with regard to the standards. So with that respect, we’re okay with it. We’ve accepted the fact that, whether you fully agree with accountability, the way it is, that’s what it is.”

“So you’re familiar with what the state standards are. You have the state curriculum. You do your best to prepare for what you know. And in our case, we were very successful.”

The next court hearing is set for Sept. 16.

KWTX’s Making the Grade team will continue to follow this story and its impact on Central Texas school districts and students.

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