Ratings are vital to helping parents, educators, and lawmakers make better, more informed decisions about the quality of education available for every Texas child, CEO Cary Wright said.

HOUSTON – August 13, 2024 –  For the fifth consecutive year, families, educators, and policymakers across Texas will begin the school year without a transparent understanding of how well schools are meeting student academic needs after a judge blocks the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from releasing its latest ratings Monday.

Education nonprofit Good Reason Houston called the delay ‘especially unfortunate’ considering the state of public education in Texas and around the country.

“It is especially unfortunate that during one of the most disruptive periods in the history of public education in Texas, this lawsuit will withhold valuable and transparent information about public school quality that would help parents, educators, and lawmakers make better, more informed decision about the quality of education available to every child in every community of our state,” Good Reason Houston CEO Cary Wright said.

The accountability ratings were expected to be released Thursday, Aug. 15, however a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order after a handful Texas school districts filed a second lawsuit Monday over how the ratings are calculated, citing unfair STAAR tabulations. More than 120 school districts filed a similar lawsuit last fall claiming increased rigor would unfairly drop ratings. 

“If Texans wish for our children to compete economically on a global stage, we must have high standards for student learning, measured by effective assessments, with results that are communicated consistently and transparently to the public,” Wright said. “The families, educators, and taxpayers of Texas deserve to know where we have bright spots to celebrate, as well as where we have public schools in need of additional resourcing and support to meet the needs of every learner.”