Gainesville ISD to review 2026 state ratings, appeal if it finds errors

Gainesville ISD will go over its preliminary 2026 state accountability results and appeal if it finds discrepancies, the district said in a statement on the new ratings. That statement does not confirm that an appeal has been filed.

The review comes after a split year across the district's campuses. According to GISD, Chalmers and Edison elementary schools each rose from an F to a B. Gainesville Intermediate and Gainesville High School lost ground, and the junior high edged up. The district put its overall score at 69, up four points.

| Campus | Change reported by GISD |

|---|---:|

| Chalmers Elementary | Up 28 points (F to B) |

| Edison Elementary | Up 28 points (F to B) |

| Gainesville Intermediate | Down 6 points |

| Gainesville Junior High | Up 2 points |

| Gainesville High School | Down 6 points |

| District overall | Up 4 points |

The Texas Education Agency's report on Gainesville Junior High gives the campus a D and flags it for additional targeted support. Of the area scores listed there, student achievement came in lowest. TEA's comparison report also rates Gainesville Intermediate a D. The school board's Jan. 20 agenda set targeted improvement plans for the junior high and both elementary schools up for consideration, along with a local plan for the intermediate campus.

An appeal can fix only certain problems. Under TEA's 2026 appeal rules, winning challenges usually point to a data or calculation error by the agency, a regional education service center or a testing contractor. A district cannot use the process to correct bad data it reported itself. If TEA grants an appeal, the rating and the affected scaled scores change, but the underlying data and calculations in the public reports stay as published.

One appeal on those grounds succeeded in North Texas last year. In December 2025, TEA granted Arlington ISD's appeal after confirming that glitches in the testing contractor's system had left rescored tests out of the count. Arlington ISD reported that the decision lifted scores and letter grades at six of its campuses.

TEA's accreditation record shows Gainesville ISD with a B in 2022 and a D in each year from 2023 through 2025. Its 2025–2026 accreditation status remained Accredited, according to TEA. GISD says Texas changed its formulas starting in 2023, and it cautions against directly comparing its 2023 and 2024 ratings with 2022. For 2026, TEA's framework says rating cut points and domain and indicator methods did not change. It identifies narrower updates to which career certifications and college-prep courses earn readiness credit.

Next door, TEA's 2026 record gives Callisburg ISD a C. Statewide, the agency reported that about a quarter of districts and campuses raised their letter grade from 2025.

TEA's 2026 calendar gives districts 30 calendar days after ratings come out to file an appeal. The agency plans to announce decisions 90 calendar days after that window closes, with final ratings due in December.