At Fort Worth's academy for new high school teachers this past week, the training focused on communicating effectively and positively with students, making expectations clear and planning carefully to avoid disruption and disorder that deter learning.
More than a few of those educators worry about the stigma of recently released poor accountability ratings that have school board members grumbling, and not just in Fort Worth.Campuses in Arlington, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw and Crowley were among those that missed the passing bar for the final year of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. The TAKS is being replaced statewide for 2011-12. And when federal ratings came out last week, none of the high schools in Arlington, Mansfield or the Birdville district met the standard of adequate yearly progress. Neither did Grapevine High.Of Fort Worth's 139 schools, 23 were rated unacceptable by the state, and 76 didn't make federally required progress. Three of Fort Worth's 13 high schools met both state and federal standards.Do the ratings mean public school systems are failing? That would be an oversimplified and inaccurate conclusion. Accountability ratings provide a snapshot based largely on how many students passed state standardized tests.Passing rates are measured for four subgroups: African-American, Hispanic, Anglo and economically disadvantaged. Graduation rates are part of the picture, as are scores for special-education students and those who speak limited English. But the state and federal systems don't neatly overlap.Several suburban schools achieved recognized status, the second-highest rating under the state system, but missed federal AYP because their reading passage rate for one group of students fell short of this year's standard: 80 percent, up from 73 percent in 2010.At Grapevine High, it was because 70 percent of economically disadvantaged students passed the math TAKS, short of the 75 percent federal standard (it was raised from 67 percent last year).Scores can help pinpoint weak spots, such as where many African-Americans aren't passing the math test, which is a problem in many schools. But the system largely doesn't recognize progress in schools that start with very low scores, continue to improve but fall even a percentage point shy of steadily increasing scores required under the ratings system.Far more attention goes to the state and federal sanctions for campuses that don't meet required passing rates year after year.The ratings don't provide a proven prescription for improving teaching or learning, bolstering parent involvement or removing the obstacles that prevent students from succeeding. So districts and individual schools keep searching for effective methods.While the federal goal of having every child reading and doing math on grade level by 2014 is laudable, even Education Secretary Arne Duncan has acknowledged the impediments. He has said states can get waivers from some federal requirements.Schools' test reports are available through the Texas Education Agency or at bit.ly/ppp6Qs.But the best way to judge a school is to go inside.South Hills High, which struggled for years to make needed improvement, made both the state and federal benchmarks this year. That achievement is being attributed to a faculty and staff that are united and closely involved with students.South Hills was one of several Fort Worth schools tapped in 2008 to revamp with newly hired faculty and performance bonuses for demonstrated academic gains.Principal Nancy Sticksel said the program was a catalyst for change that included pulling together a cohesive staff "dedicated to whatever it took to help these kids."Anyone who's tried it knows that's not easy. But it's what taxpayers, parents and elected officials expect from public schools every time August rolls around.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
