What’s in this year’s rankings?

The grading system that C@R uses to rank Texas public schools is based on several factors, including student achievement, progress, and performance gaps. C@R ranks elementary and middle schools across three different domains and high schools across four domains. For elementary and middle schools, grades are based on student achievement, student growth, and relative performance (test scores relative to schools with similar levels of poverty). High schools are graded on an additional metric of college readiness that takes into account graduation rates, AP/IB and SAT/ACT scores and participation.

This iteration of CHILDREN AT RISK’s Annual School Rankings includes the following: 

• Student Achievement 
  • How students do on state standardized tests (STAAR) 
• Campus Performance 
  • How a school compares in test scores to schools with similar levels of poverty 
• Student Growth 
  • How students improve on their STAAR tests in a school year 
• College Readiness – High schools only. 
  • How many high school students are graduating on time and participating in other college readiness activities. 

The Gold Ribbon sub-lists highlight high-performing, high poverty schools that are traditional neighborhood campuses; new this year, magnet schools and charter schools are included in the Gold Ribbon sub-lists. High poverty schools are identified as campuses that are more than 75% economically disadvantaged. Those campuses that receive an A or a B in the CHILDREN AT RISK rankings are considered high performing, high poverty.