Texas Schools Have Received a Preliminary Report Card from the State

. AUSTIN (AP/STAFF) — Public schools across Texas have gotten preliminary A to F grades under a still-being-overhauled academic accountability system. TISD received a B for student progress and grades of D for student achievement, closing performance gaps and post-secondary readiness. In a news release, Tyler school superintendent Marty Crawford said the grades “do not reflect the incredible progress Tyler ISD campuses made over the course of last school year, such as the increased number of state recognized academic distinctions and the significant reduction of low-performing campuses.” The state education commissioner even cautioned that the grades weren’t official and wouldn’t be until August 2018.

The Longview School District got an A in student progress, a B in closing performance gaps, a C in student achievement and a D in post-secondary readiness.

The agency didn’t provide overall grades because results weren’t ready for a fifth category measuring “community and student engagement.” Education groups say the incomplete results already show the new scale stigmatizes classrooms in poor and heavily minority areas. The initial results reverberated statewide. Critics say that issuing failing grades is unfair to schools in economically challenged or heavily minority parts of Texas.