Roughly six in 10 Fort Worth ISD students are below grade level in every tested subject, district data review for Wednesday's board meeting shows

Fort Worth ISD's board is scheduled to spend close to three hours Wednesday on a campus-by-campus look at last school year's state accountability results, and the district's own presentation pairs three years of rising scores with a blunt reading of how far most students remain from grade level.

The special meeting starts at 5 p.m. at the District Service Center, 7060 Camp Bowie Blvd. The 87-page packet budgets 115 minutes of presentation and 65 minutes of board questions for the data review alone.

The headline numbers

The district earned a 77, a C, in the 2026 ratings, up from 73 in 2025, 70 in 2024 and 65, a D, in 2023, when the state refreshed the system. The presentation notes that another four-point gain would reach a B.

Underneath that score, the slides show:

• Reading: 42% of tests met grade level, compared with 56% statewide.
• Math: 35%, compared with 47% statewide, the district's lowest subject.
• Science and social studies: 37% and 40%, against 54% and 52% statewide.
• All tests combined: 39% met grade level and 14% reached the top "masters" band, compared with 52% and 24% across Texas. Another 27% passed at the lowest passing level without reaching grade level.

The district's scaled score for student achievement rose five points to 73, the first time since the 2023 refresh that it has been out of the D range. Academic growth, at 72, is the other low area the presentation flags.

Where the low ratings sit

Campuses rated A or B grew from 19 in 2023 to 55 this year, or 44% of rated schools, while D and F campuses fell from 77 to 26. Of last year's ratings, 43 campuses improved by at least a letter, 55 held steady and 25 dropped.

Middle schools are the weak spot in the district's own breakdown: none earned an A, six of 20 were rated D or F overall, and 16 of 20 were D or F on student achievement. Fifteen of the 26 D and F campuses are in the district's Elevate tier, whose campuses get structured supports, staffing priority and closer oversight.

William James Middle School reached a fifth straight unacceptable year, which triggers state action at the campus. Morningside Middle and W.M. Green Elementary, both rated F, are one year behind it.

Causes the district names

The presentation lists four: classroom instruction that varies too much from campus to campus, leadership and teacher turnover at chronically low campuses, middle grades without a consistent model, and lost class time. A quarter of students were chronically absent, missing at least 10% of school days. Only 33% of eighth graders took Algebra I.

At the high school level, the four-year graduation rate was 87.5%, below the state's 91.2%, and the dropout rate was 3.0%, compared with 1.9% statewide. The district served 67,315 students last year; 81.9% were economically disadvantaged and 40.7% were learning English.

The presentation says the board will see leading indicators each grading period, including six-week test results, classroom walkthrough data and monthly attendance, rather than waiting for annual ratings.

Rest of the agenda

The board is also scheduled to hear a summary of additional community listening sessions, discuss the second reading of its draft goals and guardrails, and meet in closed session with legal counsel about the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property at Charles Nash Elementary School.

Public comment at special meetings is limited to items on the posted agenda. Speakers can sign up by calling 817-814-1920 until 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting, or in person from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m.

Sources

fwisd.org

fwisd.org