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MISD earns TAKS recognized status
By Kenny Green, kgreen@acnpapers.com
The Mesquite ISD school board received a presentation about the district’s TAKS results Monday during its regular August meeting.
The district has achieved a recognized status from the state based on its results from last year’s testing.
“We are celebrating that Mesquite ISD is recognized,” said Donna McAda, an MISD administrative officer. “We celebrate that every chance we get. The real celebration is that more of our students are achieving at a higher level than ever before and that’s what we are really proud of. The question for us is always ‘are we improving?’”
“You have to dig a little deeper to compare your data in an accurate way,” she said. “If we just compared 2009 to 2010, we might say we had a slight dip in (the Reading/ELA portion of the TAKS), however, in 2009 state calculations and ratings for Reading and ELA were based only on TAKS scores. In 2010, the scores are based on TAKS and TAKS A. TAKS A is an accommodated TAKS test for special education students served through the general education classroom with support for a special education teacher.”
The TAKS A test administered in 2009 was not part of the calculations.
When the numbers from the 2009 TAKS A test are added to the 2009 TAKS results, there are increases across all categories in the Reading/ ELA portion of the test in 2010.
The same trend applied to the writing portion of the test as well.
In 2009, the district was regarded as exemplary in all writing categories. If the TAKS A were added into the results, two of the groups -- African American students and the economically disadvantaged students -- drop to 89 percent passing. Both groups saw increases based on the 2010 results. African American students rose to 94 percent passing and the economically disadvantaged students increased to 93 percent passing.
The district has a plan in place to continue improving its scores in both reading and writing.
“Students need to be reading on grade level by third grade or the climb becomes too difficult if not impossible,” McAda said. “It is essential that we continue to strengthen the lower grade reading program. Even though our writing scores are at 93 percent or better, the new testing system, STAAR, which will be implemented in 2011-2012, will require our fourth and seventh grade students to write not only one essay but two essays on two separate days. Writing will continue to be a focus.”
The MISD has been improving in math every year since TAKS began.
In 2009, all but one group was recognized in math. When the TAKS A results were factored in, only one group remained at the recognized level.
“Even if we just compare 2009 to 2010 without factoring in TAKS A, we made great gains in every group in math,” McAda said. “When we compare apples to apples and include TAKS A in 2009, the gains are even greater in math up to six percentage points.”
To continue improving in math, the district has begun teaching more difficult concepts earlier.
All groups in social studies trended up over 2009 and achieved exemplary status.
“Our goal is to keep all groups high,” McAda said, “and ensure that all grade levels hit their commended targets.”
One thing the district has done to improve social studies scores is to purchase materials designed to assist struggling readers.
Science had the most dramatic gains of all the subject areas in the test in 2010 with six to 11 percent increases across the groups.
“We still have gaps between our science groups but it is exciting to see that all groups are on the strong upward trend,” McAda said. “At this point the question is, ‘what are we going to do to continue this upward trend?’”
This year’s TAKS will test students on the common points between the newly established Texas Essential Knowledge Skills and the one’s used for last year’s test.
The success of the TAKS testing in the district is evident in the campuses as well. MISD went from nine exemplary campuses in 2009 to 15 in 2010. The school district went from 21 recognized campuses in 2009 to 27 in 2010. The number of acceptable schools increased to 15 from the three that were identified in 2009.
“The district could not be recognized if the campuses had not shown growth,” McAda said. “Growth is what we value.”
There are several changes in the requirements to maintain recommended status for the upcoming school year. The TAKS M and TAKS Alt tests will be added to the numbers reflected in the state’s accountability system. A new ELL progress indicator has been put in place that requires 60 percent of all English language students to pass the TAKS test or grow one language level.
Recognized and exemplary have a commended piece added to them in the areas of reading and math for the all student and economically disadvantaged groups. The commended status means students got around 90 percent of the test correct.
“In order to be recognized you are also going to have to have 15 percent commended in reading and math for all students and economically disadvantaged,” McAda said. “For exemplary you are going to have to have at least 25 percent commended.”
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