As Texas schools see sharp drops in state ratings, Conroe ISD stands out as one of the highest-scoring large districts in the Houston area.
Most school districts in Texas saw their accountability scores drop last year, but Conroe ISD came out near the top of the pack. The Texas Education Agency just released its 2022-2023 ratings, and among the Houston area's biggest school districts, Conroe ISD came in just behind Katy ISD. This is one of the few bright spots in a sea of bad news.
Because of the state's new, stricter accountability system, no school in Houston, which is only in Harris County, got an A. Still, Conroe ISD, which has more than 72,000 students in Montgomery County, had one of the best scores in the area, even though the average grade for all big districts dropped to a C.
After the 2022–2023 school year, the TEA raised standards, meaning many districts lost a letter grade without necessarily seeing a drop in STAAR test scores. Education leaders say differences are essential, but the public's view has still been hurt.
Even though his district did well, Curtis Null, Superintendent of Conroe ISD, has complained about the changing rating standards and wants schools to be evaluated more stably.
Over 100 school districts across the state sued the TEA over last-minute changes to ratings. This kept scores from being released for almost two years, until a court decision this spring.
Now, the numbers show that Conroe ISD is second only to Katy ISD among large Houston-area systems. It is also ahead of bigger districts like Cypress-Fairbanks, Humble, and Fort Bend ISDs.
Smaller districts like Friendswood and Tomball got A ratings, but Conroe ISD did very well compared to its larger peers. This puts Montgomery County on the school map when Harris County districts were having trouble. In Texas, nine districts around Houston got D grades, and more than 100 schools across the county failed.
Conroe ISD dodged those problems, which helped it maintain its status as a top-notch district during a tough year.
