Dateline: August 28, 2008
Clarendon
ISD receives 'Acceptable' rating
By Ashlyn Tubbs,
Clarendon Enterprise
The
Clarendon Independent School District has maintained its level as
Academically Acceptable in the state’s accountability system this year.
Clarendon
Elementary was rated Recognized for the fifth year in a row.
Clarendon Junior High went down from Recognized last year to
Academically Acceptable this year, and Clarendon High was rated
Academically Acceptable for the second year in a row.
The
ratings are partly based on Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills (TAKS)
scores.
“The
TAKS scores from the elementary campus reflect the great job done by our
teachers and hard work of our students,” said Elementary Principal Mike
Word. “The overall scores were very good.
The elementary campus missed the top Texas Education Agency (TEA)
rating in one subcategory by 0.1 of a percent.”
On
the TAKS across the district, Clarendon had 97 percent of students pass
the reading/English language arts portion of the test, up from 93 last
year; 95 percent in writing, the same as last year; 92 percent in social
studies, same as last year; 82 percent in math, same as last year; and 81
percent in science, up from 77 percent.
“Overall,
we were pleased with the scores. There’s definitely some areas we need
to improve, especially in the areas of mathematics,” Superintendent
Monty Hysinger said. “Our teachers are very good at recognizing the
areas in need of improvement and designing curriculum to achieve the
desired results.”
Results
of each test section is examined by the state based on the school’s
performance as a whole and is based on results of different population
categories, such as African American, Hispanic, White, and Economically
Disadvantaged.
For
each subpopulation, test scores must be at or above 75 percent to achieve
TEA’s Recognized status. As a district, CISD fell short of that score in
one subpopulation group in mathematics.
Standards
for the TAKS continue to get higher and the tests themselves keep getting
tougher.
“Our
students worked really hard and the standards are going up,” CHS
Principal Larry Jeffers said. “Our students have responded well to the
challenge, and we expect better results next year.”
Clarendon
TAKS results are as follows: Clarendon Elementary – reading 100 percent,
writing 94 percent, mathematics 92 percent, science 100 percent; Clarendon
Jr. High – reading/English language arts 95 percent, writing 95 percent,
social studies 85 percent, mathematics 84 percent, science 69 percent;
Clarendon High School – reading/English language arts 95 percent, social
studies 94 percent, mathematics 70 percent, and science 81 percent.
Hedley
Independent School District raised their level from Academically
Acceptable in 2007 to Recognized this year.
On
the TAKS across the district, Hedley had 94 percent of students pass the
reading/English language arts portion of the test, down from 98 last year;
99 percent in writing, same as last year; 91 percent in social studies, up
from 83 percent; 83 percent in mathematics, up from 79 percent; and 75
percent in science, up from 72 percent last year.
Hedley
ISD principal Sharon Wood said the school was proud of its scores.