Fort Worth ISD school board recently evaluated superintendent. What were the criteria?

Lina Ruiz
·5 min read

Fort Worth Independent School District Superintendent Angélica Ramsey was evaluated last Tuesday by the Board of Education after almost two years in the position. Here’s what we know about her evaluation and performance goal metrics so far.

The rubric used by board trustees to measure Ramsey’s performance, which was obtained by the Star-Telegram through a public information request, outlines six domains and six key performance indicators that she was evaluated on. The evaluation itself has not been released, as they are considered confidential under the Texas Education Code.

Ramsey was given a $15,000 performance bonus in a 5-4 vote last Tuesday, which is the lowest amount she can receive for a bonus, according to language in her contract that was updated in January. Board President Camille Rodriguez and Trustees Anne Darr, Michael Ryan and Wallace Bridges voted in dissent of the bonus, which happened after a five-hour closed session that also included discussion on security implementation and real property topics.

Bridges told the Fort Worth Report that he misunderstood the motion and meant to vote the other way, and he declined to comment for this story when reached by the Star-Telegram. The Star-Telegram reached out to all other trustees and only received a response from Trustee Anael Luebanos, who said he was not confused by the motion.

The Star-Telegram filed a public information request for the latest version of Ramsey’s contract after the Tuesday meeting.

In a statement issued by the school board last week, trustees said they issued the bonus “based on the superintendent meeting her Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as outlined in her contract.”

Each indicator was to be ranked — from worst to best — as ineffective, developing, effective or highly effective. The four to five subcategories within the six domains were ranked identically, but the school board’s statement did not mention the domains.

The six performance indicators were:

  • Students in kindergarten through fifth grade demonstrating more than a year’s growth in Lexia Core5 for reading. (Lexia Core5 is a supplemental reading program.)

  • Students in kindergarten through fifth grade demonstrating more than a year’s growth in Dreambox Math (DreamBox Math is a supplemental math program.)

  • An increase in students in kindergarten through eighth grade meeting their beginning of the year to end of year growth in reading, as measured by the MAP assessment

  • An increase in students in kindergarten through eighth grade meeting their beginning of the year to end of year growth in math, as measured by the MAP assessment

  • Reclassification of emergent bilingual students increasing from .85% to 5%

  • The percentage of first-time ninth-graders on track toward graduation increasing from 65% to 75% by July 2024. Economically disadvantaged students on track for graduation increasing from 60% to 75%

Fort Worth ISD officials did not provide data showing that all of these indicators were met, as of Tuesday evening. The Star-Telegram was able to verify a few of these indicators and has filed public information requests for the remaining ones.

Lexia Core5 and Dreambox Math growth

During a June 25 school board meeting, Ramsey presented data showing double-digit increases in the percentage of students at or above grade level in reading across kindergarten to fifth grade, as measured by the Lexia program. The data showed snapshots of progress from the beginning of the school year, middle of the school year and the end of the school year. It’s unclear whether these increases accounted for “more than a year’s growth.”

At the same meeting, she showed data for DreamBox math growth, which also showed data points from the beginning of the school year, middle of the school year and end of the school year. The average growth across first through fifth grade showed almost all grades exceeded one year of growth, according to Ramsey. The exception to this was first grade, which saw exactly one year of growth. Improvement was also seen across student demographics and groups, which included Hispanic, African-American, white, economically disadvantaged, emergent bilingual and special education students.

MAP scores

At the June 25 school board meeting, average scores showing students’ growth on the Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP, tests were also shown for the beginning of the year, middle of the year and end of the year by grade level. Each grade, kindergarten through eighth grade, saw improvements in average scores for both reading and math. The gains were also seen across all student demographics and groups in both subjects.

Other indicators & six domains

District officials have not released data showing the reclassification of emergent bilingual students increased from .85% to 5%; showing the percentage of first-time ninth graders on track toward graduation increased from 65% to 75% by July 2024; or showing economically disadvantaged students on track toward graduated increased from 60% to 75%. The Star-Telegram has filed public information requests for each of these data points.

In addition to the six performance indicators, trustees evaluated Ramsey on six different domains. They were

  • Relationship with the board

  • Community relations

  • Staff relationships

  • Business and finance

  • Leadership

  • Instructional leadership

Within most of these six domains were four to five subcategories, each to be ranked as ineffective, developing, effective or highly effective.

Corresponding to the list above, these are the subcategories within each domain:

  • Information, materials and background, board questions, policy involvement and board development

  • FWISD image, communications with community, media relations and approachability

  • Internal communications, personnel matters, delegation of duties, recruitment and visibility

  • Budget development and maintenance, budget reports, facility management, resource allocation and attendance

  • Professional development, self-development, focus on students, strategic planning and staff development

  • Curriculum

“The Board of Trustees carefully assessed the superintendent’s performance using specific criteria reflective of the superintendent’s work. The board approved contract modifications that Dr. Ramsey requested, and since she still has two years remaining on her contract, there was no immediate need for an extension,” Board President Rodriguez told the Star-Telegram on Tuesday in a statement. “As we await approval of the district’s strategic plan, we anticipate a shift in the superintendent’s evaluation instrument to align seamlessly with the strategic plan’s objectives. We appreciate your continued support as we prioritize the best interests of our students and community.”

The Board of Education will review a proposed strategic plan for the district Tuesday evening.