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“From what I’ve seen of the preliminary data, I don’t think we’re going to earn the same rating as last year,” Lawrence said.
Shiner Independent School District earned an academically acceptable rating in the Texas Education Agency’s report for 2008, a step lower than last year, according to the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test results released Friday by the state.
“It’s the same kids taking the tests,” Lawrence said of how the percentages change from year to year. “It’s unusual.”
Like Lawrence, superintendents across the Crossroads region looked for the results for their districts Friday.
Three school districts – Ezzell, Falls City and Meyersville – earned the exemplary rating, the highest one awarded to districts and schools.
Twelve other districts received the rating of recognized, the second highest. And the other 26 districts in Region Three had academically acceptable ratings, the lowest passing rating given by the Texas Education Agency.
No schools were academically unacceptable, the only failing rating.
Shiner’s schools did not “teach to the test,” Lawrence said. But the state’s requirements began to make this approach impossible, he said.
“We’re going to have to put more emphasis on the test, which really is a shame when you stop and think about it because it takes power away from the local district, and you’re forced to teach to a test,” Lawrence said. “But at the same time, if you’re accountability ratings are where they are, regardless of how your school’s performing, that’s what tends to get headlines.”
Lawrence pinpointed the subject keeping his district from earning a recognized rating this year – science.
He noticed a slump in 10th- grade science scores; 71 percent of all high school students passed this year’s test, a 13 percentage point drop from 2007.
Lawrence thought the decrease resulted from students placing more emphasis on 11th- grade exit exam, he said.
Bay City Independent School District saw its rating increase from academically unacceptable to academically acceptable.
Superintendent Keith Brown, who started his job in June 2007, did not comment on what caused the difference between the 2007 results and the 2008 results.
But for him, any rating less than recognized was unacceptable for Bay City ISD, he said.
“We’ll be a recognized district this time next year,” Brown said. “That’s our goal, and that’s what we hope to attain.”
Brown hesitated to compare percentages from year to year, saying students’ progress was better observed by watching how the same students perform from the time they started taking the tests until their last one in 11th grade.
“People are creatures of habit,” Brown said. “I was never good in math through school. Today, I’m still not good at it.”
Instead of comparing a grade’s percentages to previous years, Brown recommended comparing them to the state averages, which gave a better indication of how the school faired.
To improve for next year, the superintendents planned to study the data and create programs to increase instruction in the areas where scores were weakest.
From offering individual and specialized instruction to using computer programs, principals and superintendents planned to include more TAKS preparation in and out of class time.
“The secret to all this is quality teaching – quality instruction – and making sure that the kids know it’s important for them to do well,” Brown said.