Accountability

Accountability
AHISD LogoHeader of Alamo Heights Independent School District

August 12th

AHISD Parents and Community-

This week, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will assign A-F letter grades to every district and campus across Texas. However, the A-F rating system that was first released last year raises more questions than it offers answers. The stated intent of the new A-F rating system is to offer simplicity and transparency in judging the quality of a school district. The system misses the mark on both counts.  

The letter grades being assigned to districts and campuses are primarily based on how students in grades 3-11 perform on a standardized test: the STAAR exams in the spring. Those scores are put through complex calculations to arrive at a single letter grade, and this methodology is neither simple nor clear. In Alamo Heights ISD, we have long cautioned against an over reliance on high stakes testing because it is a system based on a single test administration on one day of a student’s performance in time, and it is not designed to measure a variety of important things valued by our community.  The rich learning experiences that your children experience in Alamo Heights schools cannot be reduced to a single score on a single day. 

AHISD is a school system that places a priority on high standards of academic achievement for all students, and to that end, we dedicate ourselves to promoting a relentless culture of continuous improvement.  In AHISD, we embrace accountability because it is the catalyst for action for the outcomes we desire for each one of our students.

In AHISD, accountability is essential as we measure:

  • The learner outcomes of our AHISD Profile of a Learner
  • Academic growth
  • Recruitment, development, and retention of high performing faculty and staff
  • Supports and opportunities for students to be well-rounded and engaged
  • Community engagement in our schools
  • Fiscal responsibility and facility needs

Our district is relentlessly committed to continual improvement to best meet the needs of our students.  Over the past two years, with input of school staff, leaders, students, and community members, we have designed a comprehensive local Community Based Accountability System that relies on multiple data sources, authentic assessment opportunities, observations, and feedback from stakeholders that identifies the accountability that our community deserves. The A-F accountability system provides us with one piece to a very complex puzzle.  We will review the findings and the letters assigned to our campuses and add that information to our robust Community Based Accountability System to determine action steps needed as a part of our own AHISD accountability.

You can find a draft copy of our local CBAS report located on our website at www.ahisd.net.


Sincerely,
Signature Dana Bashara
Dana Bashara
Superintendent


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