AUSTIN, Texas -- It's back to school for Texas students and grades are already being handed out.

Thursday, individual campuses received letter grades from the state for the first time. It's the second round for districts to get the A-F treatment.

Overall, more Texas districts scored higher ratings than last year. Of the roughly 1200 districts in the state, about 25 percent earned an A compared to 17 percent in 2018. More than 56 percent earned a B, compared to 43 percent last year. Meanwhile, fewer districts got a D and F rating than the previous year. 

Out of the nearly 9000 campuses in the state, about 20 percent earned an A and 37 percent a B, while roughly 8 percent got a D and 4.5 percent an F.

The ratings are calculated in three areas: academic achievement, student progress and closing the gap, or how well schools are educating disadvantaged students.

RELATED: Despite 8 “F” School Rankings, AISD Receives Overall “B” From State

About 70 percent is based on students' standardized test scores, which opponents argue doesn’t accurately depict what students are learning.

Ana Rush with Del Valle ISD also said the new ratings don't account for abstract learning, community and extracurricular activities.

"We're making sure our students are getting involved and being exposed to the real world, internships. We have a lot of things that are going on that you cannot measure through the STAAR test," said Rush.  

But state officials have argued the letter grades are more accessible for parents who want to know how well their children's schools and districts are doing. 

The pressure to get a good report card is high. Schools that fail to meet state academic standards for more than four years in a row will be forced to close, or the state will take over their school districts.

LINK: See how your campus did here 

And click the video link above to watch our interview with Dr. Kevin Brown, the executive director of the Texas Association of School Administrators.