Public school districts throughout Texas are required to be rated by the Texas Education Agency's A-F accountability rating system, which had not been adequately investigated at the time of conducting the study. The following research question guided the correlational study: To what extent do student achievement, school progress, and closing the gaps explain the A-F accountability rating in Texas public schools? The existing data for 4,362 elementary schools, 1,658 middle schools, 1,343 high schools, and 372 schools that served both middle and high school students were analyzed to answer the research question. At the elementary and middle school levels, school progress domain received the highest score but closing the gaps domain was the strongest determinant of the rating. At the high school level, student achievement domain received the highest score, and both the student achievement and closing the gaps domains discriminated among the ratings. At school with both middle and high school students, student achievement received the highest score and was also the best determinant of the rating. The analysis of all data showed that the school progress domain had the highest score and closing the gaps domain was the strongest in discriminating among the ratings. Results were statistically and practically significant. No causal inferences were drawn, because of the non-experimental nature of the investigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings, which are likely to be of importance to public school educators, policymakers, and other concerned individuals, were discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]