Ralson Three schools in Brownsboro and Chandler are expected to be rated “exemplary” when the Texas Education Agency adjusts or formalizes preliminary tabulations in July, officials with the Brownsboro Independent School District said. “These are raw scores on everybody who tested, and I think we’re going to come out really well on our accountability ratings,” testing coordinator Beth Parker said. “We have some areas to improve.” Students at Chandler Elementary School, Brownsboro Elementary School, and Brownsboro Junior High School scored high enough on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and are expected to claim exemplary ratings — the highest achievement on the high-stakes test.

Only third-graders are tested at the elementary level, in reading and math. Seventh-graders are tested in reading, math, and writing, while eighth-graders are tested in social studies, science, math and reading.

Preliminary results from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test show Brownsboro Junior High School, Brownsboro Elementary School, and Chandler Elementary School will be rated “exemplary” when the state releases its official scores in July. File Photo “We are excited to be an exemplary campus for the second year in a row,” Brownsboro Elementary Principal Brian Ralson said. “Also, our students were 100 percent in reading for third grade, which is very difficult to accomplish. We

accomplish. We are very proud of our students, parents, and teachers that make our campus an exemplary school.”

To be included in the state’s accountability ratings, students must have been enrolled on the last Friday in October and take the TAKS test.

“We think these results are what they’re going to be” when the state releases official scores, Assistant Superintendent Vicki York said. “We are hand-tabulating using the Texas Projection Measure and, assuming it’s been done correctly, the overall data is good.”

Preliminary results, which cannot be publicized before the state’s numbers are released, show most grade levels tested scored at or above the Texas average. State accountability ratings are scheduled to be released July 30.

“You’ve got to have 90 percent on all populations that count to be rated exemplary,” Parker said. “To be ‘recognized,’ you’ve got to score 80 percent.”

Brownsboro High School, Brownsboro Intermediate School, and Chandler Intermediate School are expected to achieve the “recognized” rating.

During the previous testing period, both elementary schools received exemplary ratings, and the junior high and Brownsboro Intermediate were “recognized.”

“I am so proud of our students and the learning they accomplished this year,” Brownsboro Junior High Principal Yolanda Larkin said. “I am also very proud of our faculty and staff for the excellent instruction they provided for all students at Brownsboro Junior High School.

“To reach ‘exemplary’ status has been our goal at BJHS, and we are thrilled to have attained that level of success with our students.”

The high school and Chandler Intermediate were rated “academically accepted.”

“We’re really pleased with the scores and where we stand,” Parent Involvement Coordinator Perry Eaton said. “These (preliminary) scores probably aren’t going to change.”

Chandler Elementary Principal Sonya McCoy said she’s also excited about the ratings.

“The dedication of the staff, students, and parents has paid off. This rating of ‘exemplary’ will be our third in three years.”

About 2,000 students of 2,842 enrolled in the district were tested, officials said. The district’s TAKS performance is similar to several others in the state, according to a press release from TEA.

“These test results provide proof that students and teachers worked hard this year and that the reforms we have implemented are working,” Commissioner of Education Robert Scott said. “The high scores also show that Texas students are ready for the more challenging assessment program, the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR), which will begin in 2012.”

Statewide data shows passing rates rose at grades 3 through 5 and 7 through 11 and that a majority of the class of 2011 passed exitlevel state exams required for graduation.

High School

Students must pass English language arts, math, social studies and science on TAKS, along with their courses, to earn diplomas from Texas public high schools.

Among this year’s junior class, 98 percent passed the social studies test, 93 passed the English language arts test, 91 percent passed the science test, and 89 passed the math test.

Students made strong gains in math and science over 2009 performance levels. These passing rates represent gains of one point in social studies, one point in English, six points in science and eight points in math. Overall, 82 percent of the juniors passed all tests, compared to 75 percent in 2009.

Of those who didn’t pass all exams this year, most failed only one test.

“This year’s juniors are the first class that must meet the state’s 4x4 requirement, which requires them to earn four credits of English, math, science and social studies,” Scott said. “A growing number of today’s high school students are also taking rigorous advanced placement and dual enrollment classes, which provides them with a strong foundation in the core curriculum.”

Sophomores posted similar gains in comparison to the previous year’s 10thgrade class. This year, the passing rates were 90 percent on English language arts, 74 percent on math, 93 percent on social studies and 74 percent on science.

Overall, 64 percent of the students passed all tests taken, as compared to 55 percent who did so last year. This means most sophomores are on track to pass their exit-level TAKS next year.

Freshmen showed marked improvement in their passing rates, with 92 percent on the reading test and 70 percent on the math test. Sixty-nine percent passed all tests, compared to 65 percent who did so last year.

Middle School

At eighth grade, the passing rates were 91 percent for reading, 80 percent for math, 95 percent for social studies and 78 percent for science. Students must pass the eighth-grade reading and math tests to be promoted to high school.

The passing rates were up one to six points on all tests, except for reading. The reading passing rate in 2009 was 93 percent. The eighth-grade reading exam is one of four tests in which the passing standards were increased, making it harder to pass the tests this year, because of the implementation of a vertical scale.

As required by state law, vertical scales were developed in 2009 for TAKS reading and math tests for grades 3 through 8. With a vertical scale, a student’s scores can be compared from grade to grade to determine academic growth.

This requires a steady increase in difficulty of the test. In developing the vertical scale, it was necessary to raise the passing standard for the sixth- and eighthgrade reading tests, TEA said, as well as for the Spanish language math tests for grades 3 and 4.

In no case were the passing standards lowered when implementing the vertical scale.

While the passing rate for the eighth-grade reading test showed a two-point drop using the new passing standard, the passing rate would have been 95 percent if the old standard had remained.

That would have meant a two-percentage point increase in the passing rate under the previous standard.

At sixth grade, the passing rates were 86 percent on the reading test and 82 percent on the math test, with 76 percent of students passing all tests. This represents a one-percentagepoint increase over the 2009 math test results. However, a five-point decline exists on the reading test because of adjustments made due to implementation of the vertical scale. If the old passing standard had remained, the passing rate on the reading test would have been 91 percent. Seventh grade saw no impact from the implementation of the vertical scale. Passing rates for this grade were 86 percent on reading, 81 percent on math, and 95 percent on writing. Seventy four percent of students passed all tests.

Elementary School

Fifth-grade students must pass the reading and math TAKS to be promoted to the next grade.

This year, 85 percent of students passed reading on the first try and 86 percent passed the test on the first try. Eighty-eight percent of the students passed the science test.

A small number of students took the TAKS in Spanish. Among these students, 73 percent passed reading, 44 percent passed math, and 51 percent passed science.

At fourth grade, 86 percent passed reading, 88 percent passed math and 92 percent passed writing.

Overall, 78 percent passed all tests taken in English. Among the fourth-grade students who took TAKS in Spanish, 83 percent passed reading, 72 percent passed math, and 94 percent passed writing.

The fourth-grade Spanish math test was one of the tests impacted by the introduction of the vertical scale. If the old standard had remained, 81 percent would have passed the math test.

At third grade, the first in which TAKS is administered, 92 percent passed reading, and 86 percent passed math. A state-mandated promotion requirement is no longer attached to the third-grade reading test.

Among the third-grade students who took the exams in Spanish, 85 percent passed reading, and 73 percent passed math. The passing requirements were increased on this year’s Spanish math test because of vertical alignment.

If the old standard had remained, 80 percent of the students would have passed the math test.