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GCISD trustees review A–F rating changes, outline plan to raise college‑career‑military readiness
Summary
Trustees and district leaders described how changes in TEA’s A–F methodology and assessment design affected the district’s 2023 rating and described curriculum, screening and CCMR strategies to improve future results.
Grapevine‑Colleyville Independent School District trustees spent their April 28 meeting reviewing how changes to the Texas Education Agency’s A–F accountability methodology and assessment design affected the district’s 2023 rating and outlining district steps to raise college‑career‑military readiness (CCMR).
District staff told trustees the letter grade released in April 2025 reflects older data and a methodology refresh that reset cut scores and how campus results are weighted. “The rating that was released last week is based on some data that is primarily from 2018 till about 2022,” said Ms. Shannon Tovar during the board presentation on the State Accountability Program.
Tovar and other presenters said three methodological changes had the largest effect: (1) TEA now weights campuses proportionally by enrollment rather than treating the district as one large campus; (2) the cut score for an A on the CCMR measure rose substantially (presenters said the standard moved from roughly the 60th percentile to closer to 88); and (3) academic growth is now measured with a transition‑table method rather than the previous growth metric. Tovar emphasized that 2023 ratings reflect a lagged data set (the class of 2022) and the agency’s five‑year “refresh” approach.
Superintendent Dr. Shiver and other staff described steps the district has put in place since receiving the underlying data. Those measures include adoption of a phonics‑based elementary ELA program (HMH), a district curriculum management plan, a new universal screener and learning acceleration tools (i‑Ready), expanded coaching for teachers, and a CCMR strategic plan to increase students’ postsecondary readiness measures. “We have created and are tweaking a CCMR strategic plan so that we can, you know, meet or exceed that 88% mark,” Dr. Shiver said.
District presenters gave examples of measures that have already moved: the 2024 SAT school‑day results showed a rise from 43% of juniors meeting both the reading and math college‑ready benchmarks (2023) to 50% in 2024; AP exam scores of 3 or higher rose from 69.5% (2023) to 75.3% (2024); and kindergarten readiness increased to 80.1% in 2024. Staff said these pockets of improvement support the district’s continuous improvement work even as TEA’s methodology creates a lower letter grade at a state level.
Trustees asked about targets and realism of district goals. One trustee asked whether the district’s CCMR goal — 93% of graduates by 2028 — is achievable; trustees and staff said the target reflects the state’s long‑term framework and that the district will pursue multiple pathways for students to earn CCMR indicators. Financial and operational changes meant to support those goals include professional development on extended constructed responses and other item types that now appear on the state assessment.
The board said it will continue monthly priority reports and hold an end‑of‑year data workshop July 16, 2025, to translate the balanced scorecard findings into school‑ and district‑level improvement plans.
