RISD improves, Lake Highlands E.S. earns ‘A’ in TEA ratings

The Texas Education Agency released 2024-2025 A-F Accountability Ratings Friday, with Richardson ISD earning a ‘C’ rating.

In April, the TEA released the 2022-2023 Accountability Ratings for the first time in two years, following a lawsuit by RISD and other districts over concerns that the ratings system had been unfairly updated. The ratings released Friday, hailed as a  “return to clarity and accountability” by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, largely use the same controversial methodology from the 2022–2023 school year, in which RISD was also scored with a ‘C’.

Ratings for the 2023–2024 school year were also made public for the first time on Friday, following the resolution of a separate lawsuit that had blocked their release. 

The ratings are calculated using a matrix of three category scores: student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Category scores are measured based on standardized test results, academic growth, graduation rates and college, career and military readiness. A school’s progress in comparison to demographically similar campuses is also factored into the ratings. District ratings are a composite of individual campus scores. 

While Richardson ISD’s letter rating remains unchanged over the last three reporting periods (the district also earned a ‘C’ rating in 2023-2024), there are signs of overall improvement. Between 2023 and 2024, the district’s rating jumped from 75 to 78, with the greatest jumps seen in student achievement and closing the gaps. In 2025, RISD’s score increased to 79 overall, falling just below a ‘B’ rating. 

“RISD students are more than a score; measured by one test on one day,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum stated in a release. “Our continued focus for this new school year will be on growth and a reset of our learning environments to ensure aligned instructional priorities and systems of support for all students.”

Lake Highlands High School improved its rating in each successive year, scoring an 82 in 2025. In Lake Highlands and Forest Meadow Middle Schools’ first year with sixth graders on campus, both middle schools showed improvement from 2023-2024, although scores lagged behind those released in April. 

Lake Highlands LC Campus Accountability Ratings by Year

Among Lake Highlands Learning Community elementary schools, Lake Highlands Elementary was the lone campus to earn an ‘A’ rating with a score of 92, a five-point improvement from the preceding two years. Merriman Park E.S. came close to earning an ‘A’ with an overall score of 89 — an 18-point swing year-over-year.

Skyview Elementary, which has been identified as a comprehensive support and improvement campus, scored the lowest with an overall score of 65 (D) in 2025.

District and campus scores can be viewed on the TEA website.