Overall, six of TISD’s 10 schools eligible for a rating received an “academically acceptable” review, while two schools, Cater Elementary and Meridith-Dunbar Elementary, received “academically unacceptable” ratings.
Kennedy-Powell Elementary and Western Hills Elementary were both “recognized” for their performance, which is the second-highest rating a school could achieve, after “exemplary.”
“We were prepared for the ratings,” district spokeswoman Regina Baird said.
The ratings are based largely on results from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests given to students during the school year.
To remain academically acceptable, a school must have 70 percent of students meet state standards in the reading portion of the test, 65 percent meet standards in writing and social studies, and 45 percent must meet standards in math and science. To meet standards, students must have passed the individual TAKS subjects given within their grade-level.
District-wide, 86 percent of TISD students met state standards in reading, writing and social studies, 73 percent met standards in math, and 65 percent met standards in science.
According to the TEA, state averages for federal “academically acceptable” measures were test passing rates of 86 percent or above for all students and student groups for reading and writing, 69 percent or above in math, and 61 percent or above for science.
“When you look at our scores compared to state averages, and what it took to be considered acceptable, we exceeded them in math and science,” Ms. Baird said.
The TEA breaks down rating charts, and places students into subgroups depending upon their ethnicity and economic status.
Science and reading scores at Meridith-Dunbar kept the school from being considered acceptable. Thirty-eight percent of the students at Meridith-Dunbar met science standards, while 69 percent, just one percentage point below being considered acceptable, met reading standards.
According to the data, only 19 percent, or three, of the 16 Hispanic students tested at Meridith-Dunbar met science standards. The data also shows that 93 percent of the students tested in science were considered “economically disadvantaged,” and of that group only 35 percent met standards.
The Hispanic student scores for science at Meridith-Dunbar dropped by 36 percent compared to 2006-07, when the school also was rated “academically unacceptable.” Schools with unacceptable rankings are required to submit a plan for corrective action, and TEA could assign a monitor to the school or district to assist it in improving its rating.
At Cater, only 50 percent of the tested African-American students met state standards in reading, while their numbers were withheld from science scores to protect student confidentiality.
Over the past three years, Cater dropped from recognized to acceptable and unacceptable.
“We use the TEA ratings and information presented in them as a guideline every year,” Ms. Baird said. “It’s important to use the information presented, whether it’s about the subjects or the student groups, and take a look at what you can do to improve.”
The district is proud of how its students and teachers performed last year, she said.
“Since the beginning of the summer, our curriculum and assessment workers have been working hard together at finding ways to improve the scores and overall ratings in the future,” she said.
TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said that the ratings include the use of TAKS scores up to a student’s second attempt. Ms. Culbertson said a small portion of the ratings hinge on dropout and completion rates.
“Each state keeps track of district accountability with its own evaluations, which are suppose to align with federal guidelines,” Ms. Culbertson said.
Within Texas’ own levels for accountability, 66 percent of state’s districts received acceptable ratings, 27 percent were rated as recognized, 3.5 percent are rated exemplary, and .04 percent were considered unacceptable.
Out of the 8,195 schools rated, 12 percent were rated exemplary, 34 percent were rated recognized, 43 percent were rated acceptable, and 2.6 percent were rated unacceptable.
To view the ratings or view how they were determined, you can visit http://www.tea.state.tx.us
