Black families across Texas are facing a difficult question as they decide where their children can receive both a strong education and a school experience that respects their culture, history and identity.
A Texas Tribune analysis of state accountability data found that majority-Black schools were more than four times as likely as majority-white schools to receive a D or F rating. The same analysis found that high-poverty campuses were dramatically more likely to receive low ratings than schools serving wealthier communities. Those numbers have renewed concerns about whether Texas students are being given equal access to experienced teachers, advanced coursework, stable campuses and the resources needed to succeed.
Texas uses an A-F accountability system to measure school and district performance, relying heavily on student achievement, academic growth and how well schools prepare students for college, careers or the military. The Texas Education Agency says the system is designed to give families clear information and help identify achievement gaps that need attention. But critics argue that a letter grade can also reflect years of unequal funding, concentrated poverty, teacher turnover and other challenges that schools cannot solve through testing alone.
For Black parents, that debate can become deeply personal. A higher-rated school may offer stronger academic programs, newer facilities or more extracurricular opportunities, but some families worry their children could enter environments where fewer teachers and classmates share their background or where Black history and culture receive less attention. Other parents believe academic opportunity must come first, even if that means leaving a neighborhood school or traveling farther from home.
The choices are becoming even more complicated as Texas expands school-choice options. The state’s new education savings account program is expected to help some families pay for private school or home-schooling expenses. Supporters say that gives parents another path when a local public school is not meeting their child’s needs. Critics warn that students who remain in struggling public schools could be left with fewer resources if enrollment and funding decline.
The issue also reaches beyond one school rating. Research and education advocates have long pointed to the loss of Black educators after school desegregation, unequal access to advanced classes, disproportionate discipline and differences in school funding as factors that can shape Black students’ experiences. At the same time, there are high-poverty and majority-Black campuses across Texas that have posted strong academic results, showing that demographics alone do not determine whether a school can succeed.
For families, the most important question may be what happens beyond the letter grade. Parents can look at teacher experience, class sizes, reading and math growth, advanced-course offerings, discipline practices, special education support, campus safety and whether students feel seen and supported. A school’s A-F rating can be one piece of that picture, but it may not tell the entire story.
For Black communities, the disparity in ratings raises a larger concern: whether every child in Texas has a realistic chance to attend a well-resourced school without having to choose between academic opportunity and a learning environment that reflects and respects who they are.
Sources: Texas Education Agency; The Texas Tribune.
