HISD board approves Teacher Excellence System amid broad public criticism and discussion of student achievement targets

The Houston Independent School District Board of Managers on March 20 approved a new Teacher Excellence System (TES) for implementation in school year 2025–26 and accepted several monitoring reports and calendar revisions intended to speed delivery of student-performance data.

The action came after more than an hour of public testimony, much of it sharply critical of TES, and a board-level discussion about how the system will be rolled out, how educators will be trained and how the district will monitor unintended consequences. The board vote to adopt TES was 8–0.

Justin Smith, executive director of assessment, accountability and compliance, presented the board with background on district monitoring documents and new or revised goal progress measures. "This report is put together at both the state, the district, and the region level," Smith told the board while describing the Texas Academic Performance Report and accompanying data products available on the district website.

Public commenters — including parents, teachers and students — said the proposed TES risks driving experienced teachers from the district and incentivizing competition over collaboration. "TES will likely make this matter worse that I see history repeating itself," researcher Dr. Dania Serrano said during public comment. Veteran teacher Michelle Williams told the board: "I've worked under many evaluation system, but TS is by far the worst I've ever seen. It's inequitable. It penalizes teachers with high achieving students, emerging bilingual students, and, frankly, parents of children."

Supporters of TES told the board the system includes multiple evidence-based…