Area Schools Post Strong 2026 TEA Ratings; Gruver and Texhoma Earn As, Stratford and Spearman Make Gains

As students head back to school, the Texas Education Agency has released its 2026 A–F accountability ratings, with Hansford and Sherman County schools posting largely strong results. Gruver ISD maintained an A, Texhoma ISD moved into the A range, and Stratford and Spearman both showed improvement.

TEA released the preliminary ratings Friday, Aug. 14. Districts and campuses are graded based on Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps.

Among the five districts in the Reporter-Statesman and Sherman County Gazette coverage area, Gruver and Texhoma received A ratings, Spearman and Stratford received Bs and Pringle-Morse received a C.

Gruver ISD earned an A with a score of 94, down one point from its 2025 score of 95.

Gruver High School was the highest-scoring campus in the local coverage area, earning a 98 and an A for the second consecutive year. Gruver Junior High also received an A with a 92.

Gruver Elementary scored 87 and received a B, compared with an A and a score of 91 last year.

Spearman ISD remained a B-rated district but improved from 86 in 2025 to 87 in 2026, with all three campuses receiving an A or B.

Spearman High School earned an A with a score of 94 and received five distinction designations for Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Postsecondary Readiness.

Spearman Junior High moved from a C to a B, improving from 78 to 80. Gus Birdwell Elementary improved from 82 to 85 while maintaining a B.

Some of the area's largest improvements came in Stratford.

Stratford ISD increased five points, from 83 to 88, maintaining a B but moving closer to the 90-point threshold for an A.  Stratford High improved from an 85/B to a 90/A, while Stratford Junior High jumped from a 79/C to an 85/B.  Mary Allen Elementary remained an A-rated campus with a 92, compared with 97 last year.  Stratford High also received five distinction designations, while Stratford Junior High and Mary Allen Elementary earned multiple distinctions.

Texhoma ISD made one of the largest district-level moves, improving from an 89/B in 2025 to a 93/A in 2026.  Texhoma Elementary, the district's rated campus, also earned a 93/A and received multiple distinction designations.

Pringle-Morse CISD received a C with a score of 73, compared with a 77/C last year.  Pringle-Morse is a small PK-8 district, where relatively small numbers of students can have a larger impact on year-to-year accountability percentages.

Texas evaluates schools in three major areas: Student Achievement, which measures what students know and can do; School Progress, which considers academic growth and performance relative to similar schools; and Closing the Gaps, which examines performance among different student groups.

Campuses can also earn distinction designations for strong performance compared with similar Texas schools.

The 2026 ratings are preliminary and districts may appeal certain calculations before they become final.

Overall, four of the five local districts earned an A or B. Gruver maintained its A, Texhoma moved from a B to an A, Stratford posted significant gains and Spearman improved while keeping all of its campuses rated A or B.