LISD gains ground, Prairie Lea falls to F in TEA ratings
By Anthony Collins
LPR Editor
The Texas Education Agency’s newly released 2026 accountability ratings show very different academic pictures across Caldwell County, with Lockhart ISD (LISD) continuing a multi-year climb while Prairie Lea ISD (PLISD) fell sharply to an F.
TEA released the 2026 A-F Accountability Ratings on Aug. 14, evaluating 1,202 public school districts and 9,105 campuses across Texas. Grades of C or higher are considered acceptable academic performance under the state system. Statewide, 85 percent of campuses receiving an A-F rating earned a C or better, while 585 campuses improved from below an A to an A this year. “This year’s A-F ratings illustrate the progress Texas public schools are making and acknowledge the hard work of our educators while illuminating areas of needed improvement to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality education,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in announcing the results.
The state accountability system evaluates districts and campuses primarily through three areas, Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps. School Progress examines academic growth and performance relative to similar schools, while Closing the Gaps measures whether different student groups are meeting state performance goals.
For LISD and PLISD, those measures produced significantly different results. LISD earned an overall C with a score of 79, improving six points from its C/73 rating in 2025 and coming within one point of earning an overall B. The latest score continues a multi-year upward trend for the district. Lockhart received a D/66 in 2023, improved to C/71 in 2024, C/73 in 2025 and now C/79 in 2026, a 13-point improvement over that period. The improvement is reflected across several of the measures TEA uses to calculate accountability ratings. LISD earned a 75 in Student Achievement, 80 in School Progress, 77 in Academic Growth, 80 in Relative Performance and 78 in Closing the Gaps. Those numbers show particularly strong year-to-year improvement in some areas. In 2025, LISD had an Academic Growth score of 65 and a Closing the Gaps score of 66. Those increased to 77 and 78, respectively, this year. Relative Performance also increased from 76 to 80.
The gains were also widespread among individual campuses. The broader district numbers show improvement across many of LISD schools, particularly at the junior high and high school levels. The district-wide rise from 73 to 79 is especially notable because it was not driven solely by one high-performing campus. Scores improved at several elementary schools as well as both Lockhart Junior High and Lockhart High School, while district-level Academic Growth and Closing the Gaps also increased substantially. LISD Superintendent Dr. Mark Estrada said the district is encouraged by the upward trend but remains focused on continued improvement. “We are pleased with the progress Lockhart ISD has made in our A-F ratings, with our average campus score increasing year after year to an 81,” Estrada said. “While we celebrate that growth, our goal remains clear: we want every campus in Lockhart ISD to earn an A rating.” Estrada said the district’s emphasis goes beyond improving accountability scores. “More importantly, we want to achieve that goal the right way,” he said. “Our focus is not simply on improving a score, but on improving the educational experience and outcomes for every student through exemplary teaching and student-centered learning.” Estrada added that continued attention to classroom instruction and student needs will remain central to the district’s approach. “If we stay focused on doing the right work for kids every day, the ratings will follow,” Estrada said. “Our destination is excellence, and we are #LockedInForLockhart.
More troubling results came from PLISD, which fell from D/63 in 2025 to F/52 in 2026, an 11-point decline in one year. PLISD received failing scores in every major accountability measure used by TEA. Prairie Lea scored 49 in Student Achievement, 56 in School Progress, 56 in Academic Growth, 49 in Relative Performance and 42 in Closing the Gaps. The comparison with 2025 illustrates the scale of the decline. Student Achievement dropped from 63 to 49, Relative Performance fell from 62 to 49 and Closing the Gaps plunged from 62 to 42. Academic Growth increased slightly from 54 to 56 but remained firmly in the F range.
While the state data does not provide a single explanation for why PLISD declined, its STAAR results show the academic difficulties that contributed to the rating. Across 406 STAAR tests included in the district’s 2026 data, 46 percent reached Approaches Grade Level or above, only 16 percent reached Meets Grade Level or above and just 3 percent reached Masters Grade Level.
Math was among the district’s weakest subjects. Only 39 percent of math tests reached Approaches Grade Level or above, while just 10 percent reached Meets Grade Level and 3 percent reached Masters. Reading and language arts results were somewhat stronger but remained low, with 54 percent reaching Approaches, 19 percent reaching Meets and 3 percent reaching Masters. Science results showed 40 percent reaching Approaches, 12 percent reaching Meets and 2 percent reaching Masters. The data also helps explain PLISD’s particularly low Closing the Gaps score. Among students classified by TEA as part of its “high focus” accountability group, only 14 percent of tests reached Meets Grade Level or above. Among economically disadvantaged students, the figure was 15 percent.
Results for students receiving special education services were especially low. Across all subjects, 19 percent of tests reached Approaches Grade Level or above and just 1 percent reached Meets. In reading, none of the tests in that group reached the Meets standard, while in mathematics 20 percent reached Approaches, but none reached Meets. Those figures do not establish one single cause for PLISD’s F rating, but they show that the district’s difficulties were broad, spanning overall achievement, academic progress and the performance of multiple student groups. PLISD is also a much smaller school district than LISD, meaning relatively small changes in the number of students meeting standards can produce larger swings in percentages. That context is important when examining year-to-year results, but it does not change the fact that all five of PLISD’s major 2026 accountability measures fell within the F range. From PLISD Superintendent Martha Gilmore “As I enter my sixth month as Superintendent of Prairie Lea ISD, I am encouraged by the progress we are making while recognizing there is still important work ahead.
Our district improved its Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) rating from an F to a C with a score of 78. I want to recognize Chief Financial Officer Eric Tober for his leadership in strengthening our financial systems and practices as we continue working toward greater financial accountability and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Prairie Lea ISD has a pending appeal on recently released scores, we are reviewing the data for accuracy due to what appears to be a potential reporting issue. We want to make sure we fully understand and verify the information before drawing conclusions. We are working through the established TEA and Commissioner of Education appeal process and will remain transparent with our Board, staff, families, and community.
Most importantly, our focus remains on our students. We are emphasizing personalized learning, small-group instruction, targeted interventions and regular progress monitoring to help every student grow. Our priorities remain clear: stronger finances, greater accountability, personalized learning and student growth. We know where we need to go, and we are committed to moving Prairie Lea ISD forward together.”
The 2026 ratings provide a contrasting snapshot of public education across these two school districts. Lockhart ISD appears to be moving steadily upward, improving from a D/66 in 2023 to C/79 this year and posting significant gains at several of its largest campuses. The district is now only one point below the B range, although Navarro Elementary remains an area of concern.
PLISD faces the steepest challenge. Its F/52 represents not merely a change in letter grade, but declines in Student Achievement, Relative Performance and Closing the Gaps, coupled with STAAR results showing relatively few tests reaching the Meets Grade Level standard.
The numbers are not a complete measure of a school or the work taking place inside its classrooms, but they provide the state’s most comprehensive annual measurement of whether students are reaching academic standards and whether districts are making progress.
