Parents, educators, and members of the business community get questions answered about the purpose, value, and meaning of the state’s accountability system for public schools.

 HOUSTON – August 30, 2024 – Good Reason Houston and Alief ISD’s Chief of School Improvement and Accountability addressed questions about Texas’ public school accountability system during a live webinar Friday. 

Dozens of parents, educators, and members of the business community participated in the webinar to ask questions about the purpose, value, and meaning of the state’s accountability system. Alief ISD’s Dr. Rayyan Amine and Good Reason Houston Director of Research & Data Strategy Patrick Gill answered questions about the purpose of accountability ratings, how ratings are calculated, and more. 

Some of the myths addressed include:

• Accountability is meant as a performance tool used to evaluate students and teachers

• Accountability ratings are not valuable because they don’t tell the full student story

• If a school is rated an A or a B, it means all students are performing on grade level

• The work stops when accountability is delayed

The webinar comes a week after the Texas Education Agency was blocked from releasing the 2023 school accountability ratings, leaving many questioning the state’s accountability system and wondering about the implications of not having access to transparent school performance data. 

“Families, educators, and community members across Houston deserve to know where we have bright spots to celebrate and where schools may need additional resources and support to meet the needs of every learner,” said Good Reason Houston CEO Cary Wright. “Accountability ratings offer a way to understand how school systems are serving students and provide transparency to the public.”