Garland ISD was one of the top districts among its Dallas County peers, according to a presentation during its most recent meeting.

Trustees received a comparison to other urban districts in Dallas County during the Tuesday, Aug. 23, regular board meeting.

Veronica Salgado Joyner, director of research, assessment and accountability, said the district has made steady progress, even if its grade dipped slightly from the 2019 Texas Education Agency (TEA) accountability rating.

In 2022, the district received a cumulative score of 87, compared to an 88 in 2019. The TEA did not provide accountability ratings in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic.

“We’ve come such a long way from what that rating would have been if we had a ratings system during the 2021 COVID school year,” Joyner said. 

According to Joyner’s presentation, Garland ISD had the second-highest TEA accountability rating for districts with a student population of economically disadvantaged children at 70% or greater. It was only outperformed by Lancaster ISD, which has 6,978 students compared to GISD’s 52,960.

“Garland ISD earned a higher accountability score than all Dallas County districts greater than 25,000 students,” Joyner said. “Even beyond the parameters we’ve set in this presentation, Garland ISD really did an incredible job and I’m so proud of our students, teachers and district staff.”

The district also increased the number of campuses that received an “A” rating by 45% to 16, compared to 11 campuses in 2019. Garland ISD currently operates 70 campuses.

Of the 16 “A” campuses, both Sachse elementary schools — Sewell and Armstrong —ß received the top score.

GISD received an 86 for its student achievement score, which factors in STAAR scores, graduation rates and career, college and military readiness (CCMR), said Joyner. Districtwide, 71% of students scored at the approaches grade level, 44% scored meets grade level and 20% scored masters grade level.

For the full story, see the Sept. 1 issue of The Sachse News.