AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Two Austin middle schools are set to receive failing state accountability grades for a fifth consecutive year, authorizing the state's education commissioner to either close the campuses or replace the school district's elected board and superintendent with state appointees.
District officials learned of the results Wednesday, ahead of the Texas Education Agency's scheduled public release of the data on Friday. AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said the district is reviewing the data and will likely appeal multiple school ratings.
According to the district, Webb and Burnet Middle Schools both received "F" ratings. A third at-risk campus, Dobie Middle School, received a "D" rating.
TEA annually assigns letter grades based largely on student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR tests. According to the district, Webb scored 58 out of 100, Burnet scored 59, and Dobie scored 62.
Any score below 60 is an F. None of the three schools have scored above an F since 2018.
The failing grades at individual campuses come despite overall improvement for Austin ISD. The 70,000-student district elevated its overall rating from a C to a B — increasing its score from 79 to 81 — and reduced its number of D- and F-rated campuses from 41 to 31.
If the TEA assumes control, Austin ISD would become the seventh district run by a state-appointed board due to academic failings since 2015. It would be the second-largest district under TEA management, trailing only the 170,000-student Houston ISD.
In only three prior cases has the TEA opted to close campuses rather than replace district leadership.
Any state action is likely to be decided later this year, after the appeals process has run its course. TEA's final grades are expected to be published in December.
Webb, Burnet and Dobie all scored F ratings in 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Ratings were suspended from 2020 through 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes to the state accountability system.
Despite the setbacks at the middle schools, district data showed the total number of A- and B-rated campuses grew from 47 in 2025 to 61 in 2026. High-performing Title I campuses, which serve predominantly low-income students, increased from seven to 16.
Segura, who has led the district since 2023, said the scores show academic outcomes are trending positively but remain fully unrealized. He said his goal is to have zero F-rated campuses by the end of the 2026-27 school year.
Austin ISD had 23 F-rated campuses in 2025, the highest number in the state. Following recent cost-cutting measures and years of enrollment declines, the district closed 10 schools at the end of the 2025-26 school year. Six of the 31 campuses rated D or F this year were among those closed this summer.
Looking ahead, two elementary schools — Linder and Pecan Springs — will start the upcoming school year with four consecutive F ratings. Late last month, the district abruptly closed Paredes Middle School after predicting it would receive a fourth F rating, with Segura citing staff vacancies and leadership disruptions as barriers to academic improvement.
