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Three Beaumont schools could face closure if they fail to meet state standards a year from now

Three Beaumont schools could be in danger of closing under a law passed in 2015 that allows the TEA close individual schools or take over an entire district if one or more campuses is rated "Improvement Required", or IR, for five or more consecutive years.

Beaumont Indpendent School District

Three Beaumont schools could be in danger of closing a year from now if they continue to receive low marks from the state.

Three Beaumont schools could be in danger of closing under a law passed in 2015 that allows the Texas Education Agency to close individual schools or take over an entire district if one or more campuses is rated "Improvement Required", or IR, for five or more consecutive years.

The new rule takes effect in 2018.

MORE | 2017 TEA Accountability Ratings for SBOE Dist 7

MORE | TEA Press Release - 2017 Accountability Ratings

Fehl-Price Elementary School, which has been rated IR for five consecutive years, as well as Jones-Clark Elementary School and Smith Middle School, which have both been rated IR for four consecutive years, could face possible closure by the TEA if they receive an IR rating in 2018.

If any of the these three schools meet the standard in 2018 the clock, so to speak, will be reset and they would not be in danger of closing until they collect another five consecutive years of IR ratings.

Ten Beaumont Independent School District campuses were rated as "Improvement Required" according to the 2017 state accountability ratings released by the TEA.

Twenty seven BISD campuses were rated with 17 being rated as meeting standards and 10 being rated as IR.

The BISD campuses listed as "Improvement Required" are...

  • Smith Middle School *
  • ML King Middle School
  • South Park Middle School
  • Caldwood Elementary School
  • Pietzsch-Mac Arthur Elementary School
  • Blanchette Elementary School
  • Martin Elementary School
  • Jones-Clark Elementary School *
  • Charlton-Pollard Elementary School
  • Fehl-Price Elementary School *

A total of nineteen Southeast Texas schools did not meet state standards according to the report released today by the TEA.

Nine schools throughout Southeast Texas were also rated as "Improvement Required" including schools in Burkeville, Deweyville, Jasper, Orange, Port Arthur and Spurger.

Other Southeast Texas schools listed as "Improvement Required" are...

  • Burkeville Middle School
  • Burkeville Elementary School
  • Deweyville High School
  • Parnell Elementary School, Jasper ISD
  • Spurger Elementary School
  • Tekoa Academy of Accelerated Studies School, Port Arthur
  • West Orange-Stark High School
  • West Orange-Stark Middle School
  • West Orange-Stark Elementary School

Southeast Texas school district ratings for districts with IR campuses...

  • Burkeville ISD
    • 3 schools rated
    • 1 - met standard
    • 2 - improvement required
  • Deweyville ISD
    • 2 schools rated
    • 1 - met standard
    • 1 - improvement required
  • Jasper ISD
    • 4 schools rated
    • 3 - met standard
    • 1 - improvement required
  • West Orange-Cove CISD
    • 4 schools rated
    • 1 - met standard
    • 3 - improvement required

From the Texas Education Agency...

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today released the 2017 state accountability ratings for more than 1,200 school districts and charters, as well as more than 8,700 campuses statewide.

The ratings reveal that approximately 95 percent of school districts and charters across Texas have achieved the rating of Met Standard.

In addition, the number of individual campuses achieving a rating of Met Standard or Met Alternative Standard increased again this year, while the number of campuses receiving a rating of Improvement Required continued to decline.

Districts, campuses,and charters receive one of three ratings under the accountability system: Met Standard, Met Alternative Standard, or Improvement Required.

The 2017 ratings are based on a system that uses a performance index framework that includes four areas:

  • Index 1 – Student Achievement (which provides a snapshot of performance across all subjects)

  • Index 2 – Student Progress (which measures year-to-year student progress by student group)

  • Index 3 – Closing Performance Gaps (which emphasizes the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and the lowest performing racial/ethnic student groups)

  • Index 4 – Postsecondary Readiness (which emphasizes the importance of earning a high school diploma that provides students with the foundation necessary for success in college, the workforce, job training programs or the military).


To earn a rating of Met Standard or Met Alternative Standard, a campus or district must meet the target on either Student Achievement (Index 1) or Student Progress (Index 2) – plus meet the targets on Closing Performance Gaps (Index 3) and Postsecondary Readiness (Index 4).


For the 2016–2017 school year, the number of districts achieving a rating of Met Standard or Met Alternative Standard stayed relatively stable to the previous years.

Conversely, the number of districts achieving a rating of Improvement Required continued to decline.

For the 2016–2017 school year, the number of campuses achieving a rating of Met Standard or Met Alternative Standard increased compared to the previous years, while the number of campuses receiving a rating of Improvement Required continued to decline.

Independent of the state’s accountability system, all school districts are required to evaluate the district’s performance and the performance of each campus in regard to community and student engagement.

Although these locally-assigned ratings must be posted on district websites by Aug. 8, they are separate from the state accountability ratings.

TEA will post the locally-determined community and student engagement ratings on the agency’s website on Sept. 30.

Districts, charters, and campuses can appeal the rating assigned on Aug. 15. TEA will release the final 2017 ratings based on the outcomes of the appeals in December.

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