http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Texas-Education-Agency-will-not-rate-12431893.php
Texas will not hold back students in Harvey-affected areas based on test scores
Updated 5:24 pm, Thursday, December 14, 2017
The Texas Education Agency will not hold fifth- and eighth-grade students back in Hurricane Harvey-affected areas based on standardized test scores given this year, Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced Thursday.
Districts most severely affected by Harvey have been urging the state to postpone grading and potentially penalizing them in the wake of a storm that triggered catastrophic flooding, damaged schools, delayed the start of classes and displaced students.
In a statement Thursday, Morath write that fifth- and eighth-grade grade students in the federal disaster area will not be held back due to poor performances on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam.
School superintendents across Southeast Texas have said they would be willing to have their students take the STAAR, as that data could help schools address students' problem areas. Administrators just did not want to be rated or penalized based on the results.
Education leaders across Texas are also anxious about the state's coming accountability rating system, which will make a soft debut next year. The Texas Legislature approved evaluating schools and districts on an A-through-F letter grade system based on various performance factors, including student scores on the STAAR exams. Districts are scheduled to receive letter grades in August, with individual schools getting the grades in 2019.
The 47 counties in the federal disaster area are: Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Brazoria, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, Comal, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jim Wells, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Milam, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Washington and Wharton.
