Published: July 31, 2009 09:46 pm      

What’s in a rating?

WO-CCISD receives ‘Academically Unacceptable’ from TEA

Despite reducing the achievement gap between subgroups and continuing to show improvement on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District received an “Academically Unacceptable” rating from the Texas Education Agency on Friday when the state accountability ratings were released.

The district’s “Academically Unacceptable” rating was largely in part due to the same rating being received at West Orange-Stark High School, which is the second time in three years the campus has received such a rating.

However, where academics may have been the root cause at the high school in 2007, the “unacceptable” rating received this year is due to the completion or “dropout” rates for students in the 2005-2006 school year, which is the year the district welcomed dozens of temporary students escaping Hurricane Katrina and fleeing Hurricane Rita.

“It really is sad that our students’ and teachers’ achievements this year will be initially paled by a system that does not take into consideration up front the Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita kids that were forced to leave the area,” said Dr. O. Taylor Collins, West Orange-Cove CISD superintendent. “It feels like we are being penalized for the unfortunate consequences of a natural disaster, as well as for reaching out to help others.”

Collins said the “Academically Unacceptable” rating has nothing to do with test scores.

“It has to do with the tracking and coding of students as they moved from school to school in the aftermath of these two devastating hurricanes,” Collins said.

The TEA 2009 Accountability Manual addresses this issue and allows schools which have been negatively impacted by the “dropout” status of displaced students to the appeal the rating.

Collins said the district will indeed appeal the rating for West Orange-Stark High School and for the school district.

Statewide, the graduation rate for the 290,662 member Class of 2007 was 78.0 percent. Between ninth grade and the end of 12th grade, 11.4 percent of the members of this class dropped out of school.

Additionally, 8.7 percent of the class remained in school beyond the traditional four years of high school and 2 percent received a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.

For the 283,698 member Class of 2006, the graduation rate was 80.4 percent, while 8.6 percent of the class continued in school, 2.3 percent received a GED and 8.8 percent dropped out of school.

Completion rates for classes in which the national dropout definition is being phased in (i.e., Classes of 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) are not directly comparable to completion rates for the Class of 2005 and prior classes, nor are they comparable to each other. The number of dropouts in grades 7-12 rose from 51,841 in the 2005-2006 school year to 55,306 in 2006-2007. The 12th grade is the only grade that saw a rise in the dropout rate in 2006-2007.

The statewide increase in the overall dropout rate is believed to be caused by a change in the way the state calculates dropout rates and a growing number of students who do not pass TAKS by the end of their senior year.

According to TAKS results at the high school, the English and language arts scores and social studies scores would be considered recognized in every category. Science scores increased by 11 points in the “All Student” category, while social studies scores improved by three points in the same category.

Another indication of improvement at the high school level are the exit level science scores, which increased by 21 points from previous results.

Scores at West Orange-Stark Middle School improved so much that English and language arts, writing and social studies qualify as recognized in every category.

Science scores increased by 11 points in the “All Student” category, while social studies scores increased by 26 points in “All Student” category.

Anderson Elementary earned a “Recognized” rating from the TEA for the third time in four years, while Oates Elementary received a “Academically Acceptable” rating for the third consecutive year.

West Orange-Stark Middle School improved its rating to “Academically Acceptable” from an unacceptable rating last year.

“The teachers and students deserve accolades for these improvements,” Collins continued. “This is a result of years of hard work. I just praise them all for their success. We have worked so hard to close the gap between these subgroups and the results speak for themselves.”

Collins said he and the Board of Trustees set goals in 2005, after Collins was hired, to improve the large difference in scores between subgroups.

According to information provided by the school district, in 2009, 74 percent of African-American students district-wide met standard on the TAKS math test, which is considerably higher than the 43 percent in 2005.

In 2009, 77 percent of African American students in sixth through eighth grades met standard on the math portion of the TAKS test, while, in 2005, only 29 percent of sixth through eighth grade students were able to do so.

Additionally, in 2009, 85 percent of all white students met standard on TAKS math compared to just 65 percent in 2005. Also, 87 percent of white students in sixth through eighth grades met standard on TAKS math this year compared to 49 percent in 2005.

“I am pleased to see the gap getting smaller in our subgroup populations in addition to the scores being on the rise from previous years,” said Pete Amy, school board president. “It’s apparent that the emphasis that has been made toward improving the test scores over the last several years is beginning to pay off.”



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



WO-C CISD Comparison

ALL STUDENTS

Subject 2009 2008 2005

Reading 92% 86% 77%

Math 77% 61% 51%

Writing 96% 92% 82%

Science 65% 52% 51%

Soc. Studies 96% 77% 85%







WO-C CISD Subgroups 2009

READING/ALL STUDENTS 92%

African-American 92%

White 95%

Economically Disadvantaged 91%

Hispanic 94%



WRITING/ALL STUDENTS 96%

African-American 95%

White 96%

Economically Disadvantaged 95%

Hispanic 100%



SOC. STUDIES/ALL STUDENTS 96%

African-American 95%

White 98%

Economically Disadvantaged 95%

Hispanic 100%



MATH/ALL STUDENTS 77%

African-American 74%

White 85%

Economically Disadvantaged 75%

Hispanic 79%



SCIENCE/ALL STUDENTS 65%

African-American 60%

White 78%

Economically Disadvantaged 62%

Hispanic 63%