A Community-Based Accountability System (C-BAS) is developed to use many diverse measures related to educational outcomes. Most importantly, Lytle ISD includes data sources traditionally overlooked in statewide accountability systems. Some examples of data sources that the state does not use, but we do, would include staff and student surveys, open-ended responses, student academic growth-tracking software, enrichment offerings, College, Career, Military Readiness (CCMR) programs, classroom observations and assessments, budgets, and attendance rates. Our C-BAS also includes data reflective of our entire student population, rather than the limited scope of state accountability. The purpose of our C-BAS is to present evidence of progress as achievement toward the educational outcomes of our Lytle community, as a whole, determines are in the best interests of their children.

A growing number of Texas school districts are using Community-Based Accountability Systems in Texas. It is time for a move away from the state’s narrow focus on standardized tests to a more comprehensive system with multiple measures of assessment and community-based accountability.

In 2017, Lytle ISD Superintendent Michelle Carroll Smith joined the newly-formed Texas Public Accountability Contortium, or TPAC, and today there are 51 school districts in various stages of C-BAS implementation. All agree that seven distinct pillars serve as the foundation of a C-BAS. Here in Lytle, we visualize these as the helm that guides our ship.