Across the Corpus Christi region, schools climbed upward in the Texas school accountability system.
The Texas Education Agency released A-F accountability ratings for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years for every public and charter school in the state on Aug. 15.
The 2023-24 ratings had previously been delayed by a lawsuit filed by several Texas school districts. The 2022-23 ratings had also been delayed by a lawsuit alleging a 2022 overhaul of the accountability system lacked transparency but were released last spring.
The new ratings reveal that in the eyes of the state of Texas, most campuses maintained or improved their letter grade. Across the state, only 15% of campuses declined, according to a Texas Education Agency news release.
The ratings are available to the public online at txschools.gov. The website includes demographic information about each school and breaks down how each performed in the three main categories that inform the ratings: student achievement, school progress over time and compared to similar districts, and closing the gaps, which measures how well schools ensure all student groups are successful.
The ratings are based heavily on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results. Beginning in third grade, students take assessments in math, reading, science and social studies. Graduation rates and measures of college and career readiness also impact the student achievement category.
The Corpus Christi Independent School District as a whole earned a C rating for student achievement and low B ratings for closing the gaps and school progress for 2024-25. This shakes out to an overall B rating of 81 out of 100, its highest grade in years.
"Our Board of Trustees and I are so very proud of everyone working in and supporting our schools,” Superintendent Roland Hernandez said in a news release. “The work of our school staff, combined with exemplary support at the district level as well as our implementation of restrictions on cellphone use last year, clearly made a difference for our students.”
Across the district, campus grades ranged from D to A, with most schools earning a B. No Corpus Christi ISD schools earned an F for 2024-25, though two did back in 2022-23 and three in 2023-34.
Driscoll Middle School earned an F in 2022-23 and 2023-24, a period in which it jumped only 7 points. But the campus managed to leap two letter grades in 2024-25, earning a passing C grade of 73.
Martin Middle School performed similarly, moving from a 51 to a 58 and then to a 64 in 2024-25.
Looking back over three school years, other campuses boomeranged. Shaw Elementary School earned a 73 in 2022-23, fell to a 55 in 2023-24, but then scraped back to a 74 in 2024-25. Yeager Elementary School fell from 73 to 53 but then recovered to 86 by 2024-25.
Many of the district’s top schools remained high. Collegiate High School inched from a 95 to a 97 between 2022-23 and 2024-25, while Branch Academy teetered from 97 to 95 and back to 97.
Four Corpus Christi ISD campuses dropped in their ratings between 2023-24 and 2024-25: Club Estates Elementary School fell from 89 to 80, Coles High School dropped from 91 to 87, Cullen Place Elementary School fell from 74 to 66 and Kolda Elementary School fell from 89 to 80. Coles High School is assessed using alternative accountability measures.
Twenty-six CCISD campuses inched or leapt up one letter grade between last year and the previous school year. Allen Elementary School, Driscoll Middle School, Garcia Elementary School, Shaw Elementary School and Zavala Elementary School rose two letter grades. Yeager Elementary School sprung up three letter grades.
“We are beginning a new school year with renewed confidence in our ability to help all students advance their education,” Hernandez said in the news release. “Public schools welcome every student, and last year we unquestionably demonstrated that, working together, we help our students succeed.”
Hernandez previewed the ratings release during the district’s convocation ceremony before the school year. At the event, Sandra Clement, Corpus Christi ISD deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that certified teachers and additional support made a difference at some of the previously low-performing schools that improved.
Other schools in Corpus Christi and Coastal Bend
In the Calallen and Flour Bluff school districts, all campuses made at least some gains between 2023-24 and 2024-25.
The West Oso Independent School District jumped from a 69 to a 75, seeing particular improvements at its elementary school campuses. However, West Oso Junior High School fell to a 59. West Oso High School earned an 86.
The Tuloso-Midway Independent School District saw growth at all of its traditional campuses, only losing points at its alternative school.
Across Corpus Christi charter schools, results varied.
Across Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas and Kleberg counties, most school districts made gains in the accountability ratings between 2023-24 and 2024-25.
The highest-rated public school districts in these four counties include Santa Gertrudis Independent School District in Kleberg County and Bishop Consolidated Independent School District in Nueces County. Both earned A ratings in 2024-25.
Only one school district in the area earned an F rating — Kingsville Independent School District. The Kingsville school district earned an F in 2022-23 as well, but inched up to a D in 2023-24, which it did not maintain. Charter school campus Jubilee Kingsville earned an F in 2023-24 but did rise to a D in 2024-25.
Only three other school districts in Nueces, Aransas, San Patricio and Kleberg counties earned below a C. The Taft, Aransas Pass and Robstown school districts all earned a 68, which represents an improvement for all three compared to 2023-24.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas school accountability ratings show growth in 2024-25
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