The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public education in Texas won’t go away entirely anytime soon. But the results of his first district evaluation since 2019 by the Texas Department of Education reflect the hard work of teachers and administrators to help students recover.

Ratings were determined by three categories: A student’s performance on the Texas Academic Readiness Assessment (STAAR) exam each spring. how those scores have improved; and how well the campus is educating disadvantaged students.

Longview School District scored well. The Longview and Spring Hill ISDs scored an As, while the Pine Tree ISD scored a B. Additionally, all campuses in his three school districts in Longview earned either an A or B overall grade.

These excellent performances in our city districts mirror the results we have seen statewide this year.

This year, 27.9% of the 8,451 Texas schools evaluated received an A rating, reports the Texas Tribune. On the other hand, 46.1% received a B. 19.4% received a C rating. 6.7% received the “not rated” label.

The Tribune also reported that 1,195 out of 1,207 Texas school districts were evaluated. Of those, 33.1% received an A. 54% were B’s. 9.4% got a C. 3.5% received ‘no rating’.

(Note: Instead of the AF rating the TEA last gave in 2019, the agency gave only an AC rating. School districts and schools that would have received a D or F will instead receive a “No rating” this year. , and these lowest-ranked students are exempt from potential TEA sanctions during the 2022-2023 academic year.)

How does it compare to 2019, when the TEA last issued a rating?

That year, 8,302 campuses were evaluated and 21.1% received an A. 39.5% received a B. 26.1% received a C. 13.3% failed, according to the Tribune.

In 2019, 1,189 districts were assessed, of which 25.3% received an A. 56.9% received a B. 13% received a C. 4.8% failed.

Within the Longview district, Spring Hill ISD maintained its A grade for 2019, although Longview ISD improved from a B that year. The Pine Tree ISD has also performed well after earning a B three years ago.

So, despite months of lost school time due to the pandemic, Texas schools, especially the teachers and the students they teach, are persevering and doing well.

That’s impressive.

I’m not sure if TEA ratings are really the best indicator of school or district performance and student progress, but they are the best so far.

However, as Pine Tree ISD Superintendent Steve Clugston told us, STAAR results are just a “snapshot of a day” for assessing student learning.

“What we do on the other day is as important as what happens on that day,” he said. I don’t feel that.”

Of course Clugston is right. The primary responsibility of public schools is to help prepare students for successful adulthood, not to master annual exams.

But we cannot ignore the importance of this year’s TEA evaluation, which shows that educators have passed the pandemic test.