Scoring schools

Low science and math scores kept La Villa High School from meeting state requirements for the second year in a row, according to preliminary figures the Texas Education Agency released Friday.

The campus was one of 12 schools throughout the Rio Grande Valley to receive the state’s lowest “academically unacceptable” rating for 2009 — a list that includes Mercedes Junior High School, Santa Maria Middle School and Myra Green Middle School in Raymondville as well as campuses in two charter school districts.

But overall school systems throughout the Texas Education Agency’s Region One, which includes the Rio Grande Valley, continued to improve, according to the accountability results.

LOW PERFORMERS

Though La Villa’s students improved their math and science scores on the TAKS standardized tests, they did not bring them up enough, said Suzanne Marchman, a spokeswoman for the TEA.  Phone calls made to the high school went unanswered Friday.

This year, the school needed to have pass rates of 55 percent in math and 50 percent in science, but it only had pass rates of 43 percent in both those subjects.

For the 2007-2008 school year the threshold was 50 percent in math and 45 percent in science, but only 37 percent of La Villa students passed math and 36 percent passed science, according to the TEA.

“Their problem area is science,” Marchman said. 

Two charter school districts, One Stop Multiservice Charter School district and Mid-Valley Academy, also did not meet state standards this year. Two of Mid-Valley Academy’s campuses and five of the One Stop Multiservice Charter School system’s six campuses received the “academically unacceptable” rating.

THE BREAKDOWN

Under the rating system, schools are labeled as exemplary, recognized, academically acceptable or academically unacceptable. The ratings are based on dropout and graduation rates as well as Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills results. More campuses were named “exemplary” or “recognized” this year than last.

Two districts — South Texas Independent School District in Mercedes and Harmony Science Academy in Brownsville — received the highest “exemplary” rating. Seventeen school districts and charter school systems received “recognized” ratings. And 24 received “academically acceptable” ratings.

This marked the first year the Mission Consolidated Independent School District received the “recognized” rating since the state revamped how it assessed campuses and school systems in 2003.

Among individual school campuses, 126 received “exemplary” ratings — including the early college high schools that the McAllen and Pharr-San Juan-Alamo districts opened in the 2008-2009 school year — 224 received “recognized” ratings and 128 received “academically acceptable.”

This year, schools and districts deemed “academically acceptable” must have passing rates of 70 percent each for reading/English language arts, writing and social studies, 55 percent for mathematics and 50 percent science.

Recognized schools and districts had passing rate of 75 percent or at least 70 percent and meet required improvements from the previous year. Exemplary schools and districts must meet 90 percent for each subject.

Districts can appeal the state’s designations. The TEA began accepting appeals July 16 and will continue to do so until Aug. 14.

The state will include the outcomes of the appeals with its updated ratings lists in October.

Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.