Test Scores Show Emphasis on
Middle School Reform Paid Off, Trustee Says
By Heather Howard
Staff writer
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
May 30, 1997
Reading, writing and math scores for students in the Corpus Christi Independent
School District improved this year at nearly every grade level, officials
said.
Scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills improved in those subjects
for all but reading in third grade, where passing rates remained at 81 percent,
and fourth-grade writing, where 90 percent of students passed the exam.
Improvements were most notable at the middle school level, school district
officials said, with passing rates in some subjects improving as much as
10 percentage points from last year. ``It looks like our emphasis on middle
school has helped a lot,'' CCISD trustee Pinky Brauer said.
Last spring, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation gave CCISD a $1 million
grant to restructure the way middle-school students are taught. Passing
rates in reading increased 8 percentage points for sixth-graders, 1 point
for seventh-graders and 8 points for eighth-graders, with at least 80 percent
of students at each grade level passing.
In math, 78 percent of sixth-graders passed - up from 73 percent last year
- while the seventh and eighth grades each posted gains of 10 percentage
points. Passing rates in writing improved from 74 percent to 79 percent
for eight-graders, the only grade level at which middle-schoolers are tested
on writing.
Brauer said the district's academic standards also could be helping to raise
test scores. The standards spell out the main objectives that students need
to learn. They were put into place in some schools during the 1994-95 school
year and implemented districtwide last year. ``I think that's bound to have
some effect,'' she said.
CCISD's TAAS scores followed the state trend of overall improvement on the
test, which has been used for seven years to measure student achievement.
Statewide, students made strides overall on reading and math tests, given
in grades three through eight; writing, given in grades four and eight.
A total of 1.6 million students in grades three through eight were tested
this year -- 100,000 more than the 1.5 million tested in 1996.
Students can be exempted from the TAAS if their English is limited or if
they are enrolled in special education programs. Exemptions decreased in
both areas, and fewer students were absent on TAAS testing days. Gains by
minority students exceeded those by Anglo students in a number of areas,
encouraging officials who have been concerned about a performance gap between
student groups.
CCISD's goal is to have 90 percent of students passing TAAS by 2001, officials
have said.
Brauer said she hopes to see an increase in the passing rates for math scores,
which were lower than reading and writing passing rates. She said a continued
push to improve reading scores should result in an improvement in math and
writing scores, as well.
``Even for math, you have to have good reading skills,'' Brauer said. ``That's
got to be the key.''
It appears at this point that no CCISD schools will be designated low-performing,
officials said.
The Texas Education Agency annually reviews schools and rates them based
on test scores, dropout rates and attendance. School ratings will be released
later this year.
``I think we're doing what we should have done to start off with - concentrating
on the things the state tells us to do to bring those up,'' said trustee
Bill Hamrick, a former principal at Ray High School and Wynn Seale Junior
High School. ``Principals understand what they have to do, and teachers
understand what they have to do, and I just think it's a better overall
situation.''
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