About the Data

The FAST Tracker presents the most comprehensive and up-to-date data on Texas public school districts and campuses. However, the data is gathered from different sources and published at different times.

As a result, year labels throughout the FAST Tracker refer to the year in which the data was published.

FAST uses academic, financial and demographic data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), the Bond Review Board (BRB) and the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The data is analyzed and used to create the FAST measures:

Academic Progress
Spending Index
FAST Rating

In the 2014 FAST results, the FAST Academic Progress, Cost-adjusted Spending and Spending Index measures are three-year averages of data from the 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years — the most recent TEA data available.

View a complete list of almost 200 indicators, where the data came from and the year referenced.

The TEA accountability rating system underwent major changes in 2013. For more information about the new accountability system, refer to TEA’s Accountability Manual. Information on the new STAAR® program is also available from TEA.

Academic Progress Measure

The FAST analysis measures achievement by controlling for varying characteristics of students, campuses and districts to estimate how much a district or campus contributes to student learning.

Controlling for factors outside of teaching that influence student performance, we are able to compare academic progress among districts and campuses on a level playing field.

To further ensure fair comparisons, academic progress is averaged over three years.

Using this model, FAST measures annual progress in reading/English language arts and math. The research team developed a composite academic progress rating by combining measures of math and reading progress.

All academic progress measures are shown in percentiles ranging from one to 99, with 99 representing the most academic progress relative to other districts in the state.

Spending Index

To create valid financial comparisons, FAST identifies up to 40 fiscal peers for each Texas school district and campus, based on common cost factors such as:

wages
school district size and geography
student demographics

Each district is assigned a spending index based on its spending relative to its fiscal peers. The spending index compares district core operating expenditures per pupil within a group of fiscal peers.

The spending index ranges from very low to very high. FAST uses three-year averages for spending comparisons to reduce the effect of one-year anomalies in spending.

A similar process is used to create a spending index for each campus. However, there are no uniform standards for districts to follow when allocating expenses to their campuses. The spending index for campuses is based only on campus-related expenditures, such as instruction, instructional services, school leadership and student support services.

It does not include administrative costs, which may not be allocated equally across all campuses in a district.

FAST Rating

Finally, the review team created a FAST rating that combine academic progress and spending measures to identify districts responsible for strong and cost-effective academic growth.

Each district has received a FAST rating ranging from one to five stars, with half-star increments.

A five-star district has a composite progress rating between 80 and 99 and a spending index of “Very Low.”
A one-star district has a composite progress rating below 20 and a spending index of “Very High.”
A district with “Very High” spending and a composite progress rating of 80 to 99, and a district with “Very Low” spending and a composite progress percentile below 20, both earn three-star FAST ratings.

This rating does not make any judgment of the relative value of spending versus academic progress, recognizing that different school districts have different priorities and different constraints.

Academic Progress Measure + Spending Index = FAST Ratings

Composite Academic Progress	Spending Index
Percentile	Very High	High	Average	Low	Very Low
80-99	3 STARS	3½ STARS	4 STARS	4½ STARS	5 STARS
60-79	2½ STARS	3 STARS	3½ STARS	4 STARS	4½ STARS
40-59	2 STARS	2½ STARS	3 STARS	3½ STARS	4 STARS
20-39	1½ STARS	2 STARS	2½ STARS	3 STARS	3½ STARS
LESS THAN 20	1 STAR	1½ STARS	2 STARS	2½ STARS	3 STARS