July 2010 - Community Impact Newspaper

Elementary schools
Address
Phone
Year opened
Projected
2010–2011
enrollment
Community Impact Newspaper • impactnews.com July 2010 | 23
2009 TAKS
Results
2010 Preliminary TAKS Scores by Grade
1 Barton Creek 1370 Patterson Road, Austin 732-9180 1991 500 Exemplary 2.1% 99% 99% 100% 96% 100% 100% 100% 99%
2 Bridge Point 6401 Cedar St., Austin 732-9200 1997 600 Exemplary 0.8% 99% 99% 99% 95% 99% 98% 97% 99%
3 Cedar Creek 3301 Pinnacle Drive, Austin 732-9120 1976 420 Exemplary 3.9% 99% 99% 99% 97% 100% 100% 100% 99%
4 Eanes 4101 Bee Caves Road, Austin 732-9100 1874 500 Exemplary 3.2% 99% 99% 100% 99% 99% 99% 99% 100%
5 Forest Trail 1203 Loop 360, Austin 732-9160 1984 600 Exemplary 1.0% 99% 99% 100% 100% 98% 99% 98% 100%
6 Valley View 1201 Loop 360, Austin 732-9140 1981 500 Exemplary 6.5% 99% 98% 100% 98% 100% 99% 97% 100%
2009 TAKS 2010 2009 Preliminary TAKS TAKS Scores by Grade
Middle 7 Gidsschools Results
98%
6th Results
98% 97%
7th
98% 98%
8th
98%
7 Hill Country 1300 Walsh Tarlton, Austin 732-9220 1975 800 Exemplary 2.3% 99% 98% 99% 97% 100% 99% 100% 99%
8 West Ridge 9201 Scenic Bluff Drive, Austin 732-9240 1987 800 Exemplary 2.3% 99% 99% 99% 98% 99% 99% 99% 97%
2009 TAKS 2010 Preliminary TAKS Scores by Grade
10 High Lauselch school Bush
Results
99% 95% 97% 93% 100% 100%
9th
10th
11th
9 Westlake 4100 Westbank Drive, Austin 732-9280 1969 2,400 Exemplary 2.6% 99% 95% 99% 94% 98% 95% 99% 99%
TAKS testing to become STAAR testing
By K. Jenney
Each year schools administer the
annual Texas Assessment of Knowledge
and Skills test to students in grades 3–11.
Designed by the Texas Education Agency,
the state-mandated assessments measure
what students have learned in particular
subjects in each grade level. The tests
cover subject areas including reading,
writing, mathematics, science and social
studies, as well as an exit-level assessment
required for high school graduation.
A student is required to achieve a score
of 2,100 to pass; a score above 2,400 earns
“commended” status. Modified versions
of the test are administered to students
receiving special education services.
Students’ cumulative TAKS scores are
tabulated and the school’s assigned one of
four accountability ratings to reflect how
the district and its schools are meeting
educational requirements.
For schools deemed academically unacceptable,
the rating comes with a series of
sanctions and penalties. Parents have the
option of transferring their children out of
the school, and the school can be reorganized
by the state or even closed.
The passage of former President George
W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act in
2001 consistently increases the standards
Texas schools need to meet each year.
Leander ISD educators like Nancy Tarvin,
executive director of elementary curriculum,
and Todd Washburn, executive
director of secondary curriculum, help the
district ensure students’ learning is aligned
to the state’s mandated curriculum, and
ultimately, the topics on which they will be
tested during the TAKS.
“Our curriculum is focused on teaching
for understanding,” Tarvin said.
The district uses an online curriculum
management application tool called Eduphoria,
which provides assessment and
data analysis. According to Washburn,
the program can interpret test results in
real time and provide teachers with online
resources that support specific skills.
From TAKS to STAAR
In 2007, Texas legislators voted to repeal
the TAKS in favor of a new evaluation
called the State of Texas Assessments of
Academic Readiness. In the new system,
which will be implemented in the 2011–12
school year, graduating high school seniors
will be required to pass 12 end-of-course
exams in four core subject areas: math,
science, language and social studies. The
first students required to meet the endof-course
testing requirements to earn a
diploma will be the class of 2015—current
2009
Accountability
Rating
2009
Economically
Disadvantaged
Reading
seventh graders.
STAAR tests will also be administered
to students in grades 3–8, with the aim of
preparing them for English and algebra
end-of-course exams.
According to Gloria Zyskowski, TEA
deputy associate commissioner of student
assessment, the new tests will be significantly
more rigorous and will measure a
child’s performance and academic growth.
To test or not to test
Leander ISD parent Dale Harrison
thinks standardized testing, in general, has
its place.
“Without standardized testing, it is difficult
to compare relative performance and
ensure students from different schools/
regions are provided the same level of education,”
said Harrison, who admitted he
T E S T STAAR
T E S T
TAKS
VERSUS
Math
Reading
3rd 4th 5th
Math
Reading
Math
Reading
Math
knew nothing about the state’s announced
transition to the STARR assessments.
“I also feel that sometimes this kind
of testing can get out of hand,” Harrison
said. “I think one of the greatest challenges
to interpreting the data is ensuring the
district and the state are accurately taking
into account those students who do not
come from English-speaking homes.”
Harrison added that having lived in
Canada, California and Arizona, standardized
testing in Texas receives much more
attention.
“Our kids spend more time preparing
for and taking standardized tests here than
anywhere we have lived,” Harrison said.
Changes coming to standardized testing Source: Texas Education Agency
Beginning with the 2011–12 school year, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness
Test will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test.
• Assesses mathematics, reading,
writing, English language arts,
science and social studies skills
• Students tested in
grades 3–11; promotion
tied to test results for students in
grades 3, 5 and 8
• Students must pass exit-level
exams to meet graduation
requirements in grade 11
• Administered with
paper and pencil
• 12 total end-of-course exams:
algebra I, algebra II, geometry,
biology, chemistry, physics, English I,
English II, English III, U.S. history,
world geography and world history
• Grades 3–8 STAAR tests in reading and mathematics,
by law, must prepare students at each grade level
for the English III and algebra II end-of-course
assessments.
• Measure a student’s performance as well as academic
growth, testing at every grade level
• Assessment counts as 15 percent of
student’s final grade in each subject
• Administered online