Published: June 04, 2009 08:33 pm      

West Orange-Cove CISD TAKS results improve slightly

Results for the 2009 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills are in and the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District appears to be headed for an “Acceptable” rating.

Students in third, fifth and eighth grades must meet standard in various TAKS subject areas to be promoted to the next grade level, while junior and seniors in high school must meet standard in math, science, English and social studies to graduate.

Some scores improved, while others remained on par from 2008 and others declined slightly.

Third-graders at Anderson Elementary continue to do well in TAKS reading as 81 percent met standard this, which is down slightly from 90 percent in 2008.

Math scores declined by 5 percentage points as 73 percent standard this year.

Fifth grade students at Oates Elementary remained consistent with scores from 2008, especially in TAKS reading as 77 percent met standard for the second straight year.

Math scores improved by 1 percentage point as 76 percent of fifth-graders met standard, while science scores slipped by 1 percentage point as 59 percent met standard.

Eighth grade students at West Orange-Stark Middle School showed improved in all four subject areas, including double digit increases in math, science and social studies.

Reading improved by 2 percentage points this year as 91 percent of eighth grade students met standard, while science scores improved by 11 percentage points and math scores improved by 17 percentage points.

However, the biggest increase came in social studies as 85 percent of eighth grade students met standard, which is an increase of 26 percentage points from 2008.

Juniors and seniors also showed improved scores in the exit level TAKS tests as three of the four subject areas showed improved scores.

Eighty seven percent of eleventh grade students met standard in English and language arts this year, which is down 6 percentage points from 2008. However, math and social studies scores improved by 1 and 4 percentage points, respectively.

The biggest improvement at West Orange-Stark High School was the eleventh grade science results as 79 percent of students met standard. This is a 19 percentage point increase from 2008.

What makes the scores even more encouraging is that the State of Texas continues to raise the bar for students and school districts.

To meet standard in English, reading and social studies, a student must master 70 percent of that required TAKS subject area. In 2008, a student only had to master 65 percent of social studies.

A 5 percentage point increase was also applied to TAKS math and science by the state from 2008. A student must now meet standard by mastering 55 percent of the TAKS math test and 50 percent of the TAKS science test.

“I am happy with this year’s State test scores,” said Dr. O. Taylor Collins, West Orange-Cove CISD superintendent. “Anderson Elementary looks to remain a ‘Recognized’ school and all other campuses appear to rate ‘Acceptable’ in the accountability system. Given that the bar keeps rising and the threshold for students to pass most tests went up several points, the

results are doubly good.”

Collins continued by saying he was proud of the district’s students and teachers this year as shown by their hard work. He also said the district is “determined to improve in every domain of quality schooling.”

The secondary campuses featured the largest improvements in the district, but it also included the largest decline in test scores.

Tenth-graders failed to meet standard in math as only 39 percent of students met standard, which is down 7 percentage points from 2008 and below the required 55 percent minimum.

Ninth-graders also failed to meet standard in math as just 50 percent met standard this year, which is actually an increase of 5 percentage points from 2008.

Tenth-grade students just squeezed by in science as 51 percent met standard this year, which is 1 percentage point more than the 50 percent requirement by the state and a 4 percentage point improvement over 2008 results.

As a whole, the district has made great strides in the past five years improving scores in every TAKS subject area.

In reading, the district’s annual comparison report indicates 84 percent of the district’s students met standard this year, which is up 9 percentage points since 2005, but down 2 percentage points from the 86 percent average in 2008.

Writing scores are down 4 percentage points this year from a record high of 92 percent of students meeting standard in 2008, but remain 6 percentage points ahead of 2005 figures.

Math scores have improved by 11 percentage points since 2005 as 62 percent of the district’s students met standard in 2009, a record high average.

Science scores are also up across the district, as a whole, as 60 percent of students met standard this year, which is a record high and is 9 percentage points ahead of 2005 results.

The district’s scores in social studies have also achieved a record high in 2009, as 88 percent of students met standard this year, which is an 11 percentage point improvement over the 2008 average.

“We have made great strides in improving our TAKS scores over the last

few years,” said Pete Amy, president of the West Orange-Cove CISD Board of Trustees. “It is extremely important that we continue to make progress

toward increasing our overall scores and ratings.”



West Orange-Cove CISD TAKS Results



Grade Subject 2008 Pass 2009

* 1st administration only



3rd Reading 90 70 81

3rd Math 78 55 73



4th Reading 70 70 68

4th Math 64 55 68

4th Writing 90 70 83



5th Reading 77 70 77

5th Math 75 55 76*

5th Science 60 50 59



6th Reading 90 70 88

6th Math 67 55 59



7th Reading 85 70 87

7th Math 52 55 66

7th Writing 94 70 92



8th Reading 89 70 91

8th Math 51 55 68*

8th Science 40 50 51

8th Soc. Studs. 59 70 85



9th Reading 84 70 92

9th Math 45 55 50



10th Eng./LA 91 70 83

10th Math 46 55 39

10th Science 47 50 51

10th Soc. Studs. 80 70 83



11th Eng./LA 93 70 87

11th Math 59 55 60

11th Science 60 50 79

11th Soc. Studs. 91 70 95



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter at The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com