State accountability ratings are based on student performance on state exams mandated by the Texas Legislature and the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Community and School Engagement Ratings are assigned locally by the district and campuses for overall community and school engagement as well as a number of categories.
The Texas Academic Progress Reports pull together a wide range of information on the performance of students in each school and district in Texas every year. The TAPRs were previously known as the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) Reports.
School Report Cards provide a subset of the information available in the TAPRs (AEIS reports) on the performance of students at public schools.
The U.S. Department of Education requires each state to publish annual Federal Report Cards with specific district- and campus-level data. Every district that receives Title I, Part A funding is responsible for distributing the state-, district- and campus-level report cards to each of its campuses, the parents of all enrolled students, and the general public.
The state's school financial accountability rating system, known as the School Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), ensures that Texas public schools are held accountable for the quality of their financial management practices and that they improve those practices. The system is designed to encourage Texas public schools to better manage their financial resources to provide the maximum allocation possible for direct instructional purposes.