Students and parents gather at Tyler Legacy High School for a surprise celebration to recognize students for receiving College Board honors in September 2021.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) on Monday released its 2022 A–F accountability ratings for districts and campuses.

Despite effects of the COVID pandemic, no Smith County school district earned lower than a B rating overall.

Five of 10 districts earned an A, including Bullard, Lindale, Troup, Whitehouse and UT Tyler University Academy. The other half earned a B, including Arp, Chapel Hill, Winona, Tyler and Cumberland Academy. Two of those improved from their C grade from 2019 while the other schools remained steady.

Individual campuses were also rated, with many seeing letter-grade or score improvements.

Statewide, driven by significant gains in student academic growth, 2022 saw 25% of districts and 33% of campuses improve their letter grade from 2019. Eighteen percent of high-poverty campuses in Texas were rated an A, continuing to prove that demographics do not equal destiny.

“These results show our state’s significant investment in the post-pandemic academic recovery of Texas public school students is bearing fruit,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said. “I’m grateful for the driving force behind this year’s success: our teachers and local school leaders. Statewide policy in Texas continues to remain focused on meeting the needs of students, with an accountability system that supports high expectations, robust tutoring supports, rigorous curricular resources, and an investment in evidence-based training for our teachers.”

The TEA grading system scores districts on three aspects for academic performances, them being student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps. Grades are presented in letters form ranging from A-F.

For Tyler ISD, the district kept the same letter grade as 2019 but saw an increase in the performance score, rising from 85 to 88.

Thirteen schools improved by at least one letter grade. Additionally, 10 campuses maintained their letter grades and just three saw a decline by just one letter grade, according to Tyler ISD.

“Tyler ISD students, faculty and staff put in a stellar effort in improving the district’s overall accountability grade from a solid B to a high B,” said Dr. Marty Crawford, superintendent for Tyler ISD. “Although this gain is significant, the district will echo its emphasis of continuous improvement to ensure successful student outcomes in all three performance measures set by the TEA grading system.”

The district has seen a drastic improvement over the last several years, as it had around 13 failing schools nine years ago. Scores show that this was Tyler ISD’s best year when it comes to scores in over a decade, according to Tyler ISD.

For the first time since 2009-2010, Tyler ISD had zero campuses with scores labeled as “unacceptable” or showing “improvement required.”

Crawford said this is something to be proud of as it shows the hard work done by everyone at the district, especially after the challenges and setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s part of continuous improvement, even if we at some point are scoring 100 on the accountability system, we will always aim to get better,” he said. “To have that mindset in our campus has really been transformational over the last decade.”

Lindale ISD was a top performer in the county, earning an A at every campus.

College Street Elementary and Moss Intermediate were the two schools that had a B when scores were released for the last time in 2019.

“I’m not a big fan about these A-F ratings because I don’t think there’s a difference between an 89 and a 90,” said Stan Surratt, superintendent for Lindale ISD. “Regardless, we are proud to receive such strong good grades and this is just a reflection of our hard work and talent of our kids.”

Surratt said one of the reasons why the district has managed to stay at the top is because of the culture they’ve developed.

“Here in Lindale ISD it’s all about the culture, the overall programs that we offer are great and that’s a sign of great things happening at Lindale ISD,” Surratt said. “Anytime we get these grades, we want them to be the best they can be, so we are really pleased with this year’s results.”

Below you can find a breakdown on performance by each district and campus in Smith County:

Tyler ISD

Overall: Tyler earned a “B” rating overall, matching the “B” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of the 25 schools with the possibility for improvement, 13 campuses raised their grades (52%). This total doesn’t take into account the two schools which previously received “A” grades.

No movement: Of 24 total campuses grades, 9 maintained their grade from 2019 (38%), including one “A” grade.

Setbacks: Of 24 total campus grades, two schools recorded a grade worse than their result in 2019 (8%).

Arp ISD

Overall: Arp earned a “B” rating overall, matching the “B” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of three schools with the possibility for improvement, two campuses raised their grades (67%).

No movement: Of three total campuses grades, one maintained its grade from 2019 (33%).

Setbacks: Of three total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).

Bullard ISD

Overall: Bullard earned an “A” rating overall, matching the “A” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of four schools with the possibility for improvement, three campuses raised their grades (75%). This total doesn’t take into account the two schools which previously received “A” grades.

No movement: Of six total campuses grades, three maintained their grade from 2019 (50%), including two “A” grades.

Setbacks: Of six total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).

Chapel Hill ISD

Overall: Chapel Hill earned a “B” rating overall, matching the “B” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of five schools with the possibility for improvement, one campus raised its grade (20%).

No movement: Of five total campuses grades, three maintained their grade from 2019 (60%).

Setbacks: Of five total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%). Kissam Elementary, though, did not receive a grade.

Cumberland Academy ISD

Overall: Cumberland Academy earned a “B” rating overall, up from the “C” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of four schools with the possibility for improvement, two campuses raised their grades (50%).

No movement: Of four total campuses grades, two maintained their grade from 2019 (50%).

Setbacks: Of four total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).

Lindale ISD

Overall: Lindale earned an “A” rating overall, up from the “A” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of two schools with the possibility for improvement, both campuses raised their grades (100%). This total doesn’t take into account the four schools which previously received “A” grades.

No movement: Of six total campuses grades, four maintained their grade from 2019 (67%), including four “A” grades.

Setbacks: Of six total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).

Troup ISD

Overall: Troup earned an “A” rating overall, matching the “A” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of two schools with the possibility for improvement, no campus raised its grade (0%). This total doesn’t take into account the one schools which previously received an “A” grade.

No movement: Of three total campuses grades, all three maintained their grade from 2019 (100%), including one “A” grade.

Setbacks: Of three total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).

UT Tyler University Academy

Overall: UT Tyler University Academy earned an “A” rating overall, matching the “A” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Only one school had the possibility for improvement, and it did raise its grade (100%). This total doesn’t take into account the two schools which previously received “A” grades.

No movement: Of three total campuses grades, two maintained their grade from 2019 (67%), both of which were “A” grades.

Setbacks: Of three total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).

Whitehouse ISD

Overall: Whitehouse earned an “A” rating overall, matching the “A” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of only two schools with the possibility for improvement, neither campus raised its grade (0%). This total doesn’t take into account the five schools which previously received “A” grades.

No movement: Of seven total campuses grades, six maintained their grade from 2019 (86%), including four “A” grades.

Setbacks: Of seven total campus grades, one campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (14%).

Winona ISD

Overall: Winona earned a “B” rating overall, up from the “C” it received in the 2019 report.

Improvements: Of three schools with the possibility for improvement, two campuses raised their grades (67%).

No movement: Of three total campuses grades, one maintained its grade from 2019 (33%).

Setbacks: Of three total campus grades, no campus recorded a grade worse than its result in 2019 (0%).