In factors used in the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center study, TISD had a 19 percent improvement in graduation rates for the 1996-2006 time period, besting expectations by 14 percent.
The center is a non-profit organization that publishes Education Week newspaper.
Dr. Robin Battershell, TISD superintendent, said TISD success in the study shows there are some really nice things going on in the district.
“It’s a credit to the teachers,” she said.
To some, she said, the district has been judged lately by turnover in superintendents rather than what has been going on in the classroom.
“That’s not a really true indicator what a school district is,” she said.
The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center analysis identified school districts matching the profile of the nation’s largest urban systems.
The study looked for districts demonstrating the highest graduation rates and strongest growth, “relative to expectations based on their demographic and structural characteristics. Thirty-three of these big-city peer districts posted 2006 graduation rates at least 10 percentage points higher than anticipated, while 27 districts from across the country surpassed expected graduation-rate improvements from 1996 to 2006 by 10 points or more.”
Despite overall progress, three out of every 10 students in U.S. public schools still fail to finish high school with a diploma, the report finds. That amounts to 1.3 million students lost from the graduation pipeline every year, the report said.
“The nation is failing to reach a level necessary to put the United States on a solid footing in a competitive global market,” EPE Research Center Director Christopher B. Swanson said. “However, the longer-term trajectory of change for the country’s graduation rate does offer some reason to be cautiously optimistic.”
Dr. Battershell said that in an initial look at the study she saw it as a look at college readiness and graduation trends. “I think we do have a dropout or completion problem in the United States,” she said.
She noted 11 districts in Texas were listed as overachieving expectations, adding that the state got a “pretty good bang for its buck.”
One reason for this, she said, is Texas setting state goals since 1980.
“I think it’s a plus,” Dr. Battershell said, noting that the good results in the study is a part of the picture, but not the whole picture. “It’s nice to have something positive.”
