The Texas Education Agency has sent a letter notifying school administrators of updates related to the 2023 A–F accountability system refresh including cut scores scaling resources, and intent to submit an amendment to the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan to adjust the methodology and targets within the Closing the Gaps domain in alignment with the refresh. TEA is asking that comments on the proposed ESSA amendment be sent through the ESSA Amendment Feedback Form by Wednesday, February 1, 2023.
More recent updates related to the A-F refresh are outlined in January Updates to Preliminary A–F Refresh Framework, including:
- STAAR proficiency cut scores remain unchanged from 2017 to account for COVID-19 and the STAAR redesign.
- STAAR growth measured in School Progress, Part A: Academic Growth has been updated to evaluate outcomes for accelerated learning as bonus points.
- The transition plan to integrate Program of Study requirements with industry-based certifications (IBCs) has been deferred one year; the transition plan maintains the Completer requirement when fully implemented.
- Sunsetting IBCs will continue to generate College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) credit, but a per campus limit will be applied based on students who only qualify for CCMR credit via a sunsetting IBC. The limit ensures that districts offer their students multiple paths for postsecondary success and is set at five graduates, or 20 percent of graduates, whichever is higher. Based on modeled data, the sunsetting IBC limit will impact a very small number of campuses and ensures that cut scores are not unfairly driven up by high CCMR scores that rely heavily on sunsetting IBCs alone.
For more information, please see the letter and the 2023 Accountability Development Materials web page.