Editorial: Reality behind Texas' school ratings is murky
07:10 PM CDT on Monday, August 2, 2010
In Texas, a single word can make all the difference for a school. The state's accountability ratings use elaborate formulas to mash up the complexities of student performance and affix one of four labels to each campus: exemplary, recognized, acceptable or unacceptable.
Effect on North Texas schools
While many districts saw improved ratings, some of those got help from new rules that give credit for failing students who are predicted to pass future TAKS tests.
• Of the eight local school districts that earned exemplary ratings, four jumped up as a result of the Texas Projection Measure.
• Three of the 17 recognized districts used the projection measure to earn that rating, and nine districts benefited from other rules that boosted them in the ratings.
• Of the 14 districts that saw their ratings improve this year, 10 benefited from one of the rules that gave them a bump up.
And while those ratings didn't tell parents everything they needed to know about their kids' schools, they offered a reasonably consistent and understandable overview of performance.
Not anymore.
The meaning behind those one-word assessments has become murky, as the state started awarding extra credit for failing students who are predicted to pass theTAKS test in the future.
Friday's announcement that huge numbers of schools earned top ratings sounded fabulous on its face. But a closer look revealed that most of the gains