Students in Texas Urban Council districts are more likely to attend an A or B rated campus than the average Texas student.
The Texas Education Agency recently released its 2026 A–F Accountability Ratings, providing Texas school systems with an important measure of how well they are supporting students to learn, grow, and prepare for what comes next.
This year’s results show movement in the right direction. Across TUC districts, the number of campuses receiving a D or F rating decreased from 148 in 2025 to 125 in 2026, while the share of campuses receiving a D or F declined from 14% to 12%. That means 26 fewer campuses received one of the state’s lowest accountability ratings than one year ago.
This progress builds on a longer trend. Since the 2023 accountability redesign, the share of TUC campuses rated D or F has fallen from 34% to 11%, and the share of TUC students attending a D- or F-rated campus has dropped from 35% to 9% — a 26-percentage-point decline. TUC districts have also outpaced the state in campus-level improvement: the share of A- and B-rated campuses in TUC districts has grown by 22 percentage points since 2023, more than double the 8-percentage-point increase seen statewide. And in 2026, TUC students remained more likely than the average Texas student to attend a top-rated campus: about 69% of TUC students attended an A- or B-rated campus, compared with roughly 65% of students statewide.
The results come just months after TUC leaders formally established a shared five-year goal: By 2030, every student in a TUC district will attend an A-, B- or C-rated campus. This year’s improvement represents an encouraging step toward that goal and reinforces the importance of sustaining the work already underway across TUC districts.
Fewer D- and F-Rated Campuses Demonstrate What is Possible
Moving more campuses to stronger outcomes requires sustained focus on what students experience every day in the classroom. Across TUC districts, leaders are investing in stronger high-quality curriculum and instruction, supporting educators to deliver high-quality instruction and using student data to understand where additional support is needed.
Several TUC districts illustrate what sustained investment can produce. Since the 2023 refresh, Aldine ISD raised its overall score from 63 (D) to 79 (C), Fort Worth ISD from 65 (D) to 77 (C), and Houston ISD from 72 (C) to 85 (B) — each a gain of more than 10 points. These gains were not confined to one campus type: the share of TUC high school campuses rated D or F fell from 12% in 2023 to under 1% in 2026, with meaningful declines among elementary and middle school campuses as well.
The 2026 results provide an encouraging indication that this focus is translating into better outcomes for students. In six TUC districts — Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Garland, Houston, and Ysleta ISDs — more than 70% of students now attend an A- or B-rated campus.
Texas’ accountability system considers student achievement, year-over-year academic growth, and outcomes across student groups, with statewide assessment results informing all three components. For high schools, ratings also incorporate graduation rates and college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) outcomes.
These readiness outcomes are moving in the same direction. Texas’ College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) rate for TUC’s Class of 2025 now leads the statewide rate by 6 percentage points, and every TUC district posted a CCMR rate above 85% — further evidence that gains in accountability ratings reflect real improvements in student outcomes, not just how campuses are scored.
The Goal is Clear: Every Student in an A-, B- or C-Rated Campus by 2030
The progress reflected in this year’s ratings is worth celebrating. It is also a milestone, not the finish line.
TUC districts established a shared goal that by 2030, every student in a TUC district will attend an A-, B- or C-rated campus because leaders believe every student, regardless of where they live or which TUC district they attend, deserves access to a high-quality education.
Reaching that goal will require continued investment in the people and practices closest to students: high-quality curriculum and instruction, effective educators, and the systems that support them.
The decline in D- and F-rated campuses in 2026 demonstrates that improvement is possible. TUC districts intend to build on that momentum over the next four years, continuing to learn from one another, hold themselves accountable to their shared commitments and ensure that by 2030, every student in a TUC district attends an A-, B- or C-rated campus.