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Officials say STAAR changes, AI scoring cloud Bryan ISD ratings; board presses for clearer accountability
Summary
District officials and trustees said Bryan ISD improved in many performance measures but received a lower letter grade under the state’s revised accountability system; board members criticized the use of automated scoring and cited ongoing legislation and litigation affecting STAAR reporting.
Superintendent and accountability staff told the board the district saw gains in several assessment indicators but still received a lower overall grade under the Texas Education Agency’s revised A–F accountability calculations.
Dr. Ubarrow (accountability presenter) explained the state’s move to a new STAR/STAAR system and said TEA’s changes and the revised rating calculations can produce lower letter grades even when campus measures improve. “We have the assessment data we needed,” Ubarrow said, noting staff used detailed student data to target supports despite rating changes.
Trustees and staff discussed concerns that AI‑based automated scoring of written responses contributed to anomalous scores in 2023–24. Board members referenced a high‑profile Dallas ISD review in which manually rescoring a sample of student responses produced higher results for roughly 35% of rescored answers; trustees said that episode reinforced local concerns about automated scoring’s reliability. Dr. Harlan noted the prior statute that required an external third party to verify assessment reliability and validity and said that requirement had been removed, which board members and staff lamented.
District staff also summarized recent legal and legislative activity: court injunctions previously held ratings while cases were litigated, and current special‑session legislation (Senate Bill 8 and House Bill 8, as described in the presentation) would move toward “through‑the‑year” assessments and had cleared the Senate and was awaiting House consideration at the time of the meeting.
Trustees repeatedly emphasized that district staff use assessment data for instruction and student supports regardless of letter grades. One trustee summed that sentiment during the meeting: while the district is “not thrilled with a C, I don’t think we deserve a C.”
District staff said they will continue to monitor TEA decisions, legislative developments and court rulings and to communicate assessment implications to the public.
