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A new grading system for Texas schools will start next semester

Posted at 1:26 PM, Feb 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-23 14:53:21-05

Changes are on the way for your child's school, and one Central Texas school district is not happy.

At the start of the 2017-2018 semester, a new grading system will take affect at schools across the state, and it's not just students who will be evaluated.

As a result of House Bill 28-04, the Texas Education Agency now has to change the public schools accountability system.

This means schools throughout the state will now be moving to an A - F grading system which not only judges the quality of a child's performance in class, but also how students improve on standardized tests over the years. It will also judge how well they're prepared for college after high school and how campuses and school districts close gaps between low income and higher income students.

In addition, elementary schools will also be evaluated for students attendance and middle schools will be scored on their drop out rates. 

Thomas Tucker who is the national superintendent of the year said this system has been successfully carried out in other states, and he thinks Texas will benefit form it as well.

"Local districts will be given an A - F grade as well as buildings now this has been going on in several states for quite sometime. It's new to Texas and very controversial, but there is this move to tie student progress to teachers work," Tucker said. 

Not every school district in central Texas is on board with the new system.

Officials at Killeen ISD sent out a statement, claiming the system fails to offer communities useful or accurate information about their schools overall performance. 

Officials also said this is a complicated system on which schools will be graded, and they're not yet sure how this will improve the quality of the students education. 

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