The Texas Education Agency has released its annual accountability ratings. While we are disappointed in the grade our district received, it is important to provide context for understanding it. The rating does not reflect a decline in the expectations or efforts of our administration, teachers, or staff.

In 2023, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) substantially raised the requirements for College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) and applied these new standards retroactively. Because of this change, districts were judged by measures that were not in effect during the years the affected students were in school.

For Baird ISD, this policy shift had a direct impact. As a small district, our overall accountability rating is essentially the same as that of our high school. In 2025, Baird High School received an overall rating of 66, largely due to a 19-point loss in the CCMR category. That CCMR score was based on the outcomes of the Class of 2024. Under the prior standards, the high school would have received a B rating. It was the standards that changed—not the achievement of our students or teachers.

It is important to understand that CCMR ratings always reflect the performance of the prior year’s graduating class. The 2025 rating reflects the Class of 2024, yet the district has already implemented changes that are producing stronger results under the new standards. In 2024, Baird ISD appointed a new high school principal, Mr. James Stevens, with a mandate to improve CCMR outcomes. Under his leadership, the Class of 2025 achieved a 100% CCMR rating, and the Class of 2026 is on course to do the same.

We fully expect Baird ISD to receive an A or B rating next year. We also recognize that it is our responsibility to respond to new standards, and we have. Those efforts are already bearing fruit, though the timing of TEA’s methodology means the gains will not appear in accountability results until future years.