Seven Belton schools scored below median group achievement rates when compared to demographically similar campuses in a Texas Education Agency report.

Two other BISD campuses nudged past peer scores by 1 percent, while a third equaled the performance of its campus group.

Designed to provide a means of comparison to demographically similar campuses, each school is assigned to a campus group of 40 other public schools. Referenced in the TEA’s recently released Academic Excellence Indicator System, the groups are assembled according to student population characteristics including race, economic need, English proficiency and student mobility.

Belton superintendent Dr. Vivian Baker said she does not consider campus groups an accurate measure because the comparisons don’t consider school size, location or district resources.

Two recognized schools, Lake Belton Middle School and Pirtle Elementary, both bettered their campus groups’ median percentages of students passing all portions of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Passing is meeting the grade-level standard of proficiency.

Lake Belton was commended for reading scores, thanks to a 95-percent passing rate among eighth-graders. Eighty percent of Lake Belton students passed all sections of TAKS, compared to the campus group’s 79 percent.

At neighboring Pirtle, 91 percent of third-graders passed math, while the campus group average was 86 percent. In science, 89 percent of fifth-graders passed, leading the group by four.

Southwest Elementary matched its campus group’s average of 70 percent of students passing.

The pendulum swung the other direction for the additional campuses, with Tyler Elementary furthest behind by 11 points. Tyler’s passing rate was 59 percent compared to its campus group’s 70.

Lakewood Elementary and Belton Middle both trailed their demographically similar campus groups by 8 points.

A recognized campus, 83 percent of Lakewood’s students passed all sections of TAKS, while 71 percent of Belton Middle’s passed. Campus group scores were 91 and 79, respectively.

Six points below their comparable groups’ scores were Leon Heights and Miller Heights elementary schools.

Belton’s only exemplary school, Leon Heights boasted an 82-percent passing rate and Miller Heights, 67.

“I don’t think it’s an accurate measure of what our students are learning,” Dr. Baker said. “I think it’s one measure and certainly it’s something that we take seriously and we don’t discount it.”

Belton’s case stems from the TEA’s practice of comparing schools from different parts of the state, as well as matching 100-student campuses to those with 2,000.

Wealthy and property-poor schools are also thrown together, she said. Belton is a property-poor district.

“Resources are a factor,” she added. “They pay for teachers. They pay for training and for lower class sizes.”