HARLINGEN — For two years, the state’s school districts have been waiting to get their big report cards.
Now, they’re here.
For the first time since 2019, the Texas Education Agency is releasing its academic ratings, this year ranking three Willacy County school districts among the area’s top performers.
The TEA released its first accountability ratings following its two-year pause resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, which disrupted the educational system.
The ratings based on student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test reflect student achievement and progress along with school districts’ success in closing learning gaps.
Willacy County schools top area districts
This year, the San Perlita, Raymondville and Lyford school districts ranked among the top in the area stretching from northern Cameron County to Willacy County.
In Willacy County, the San Perlita school district took the highest scores, with an “A” rating and a 96 overall score, maintaining its 2019’s “A” rating while earning the TEA’s distinction for “post-secondary readiness,” or student post-graduate preparedness, the state’s ratings show.
In Raymondville and Lyford, the school districts boosted their 2019 ratings.
In Raymondville, the district climbed from its 2019 “B” rating to an “A,” with an overall score of 92 while also earning the distinction for post-secondary readiness.
In Lyford, the district also jumped from a “B” in 2019 to an “A” rating this year, with an overall score of 90, falling short of the distinction, while the Lasara school district maintained an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 87.
Cameron County districts score ‘B’ ratings
Across northern Cameron County, six school districts maintained their 2019 “B” ratings.
In Harlingen, the district earned an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 89.
In Santa Rosa, the district also earned an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 89.
In La Feria, the district took an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 88, while the Point Isabel school district earned an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 87.
In San Benito, the district earned an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 85, while the Santa Maria school district also took an overall rating of “B,” with an overall score of 85.
In Rio Hondo, the district maintained its 2019 “B,” rating, with an overall score of 83.
