Fort Bend Independent School District schools improved significantly for the second year in a row, according to so-called accountability ratings just released by the Texas Education Agency.
Twice as many district campuses – 20 total – received the top TEA ranking of “Exemplary” compared to 10 last year. Another 23 schools received the second-highest “Recognized” rank.
All together, 43 schools achieved one of the top two rankings, of 65% of the district’s campuses. That represents a significant increase from last year, when 53% of the district’s schools achieved one of the top two rankings. And last year’s numbers were themselves significantly better – by a total of 11 schools, than in 2007.
Despite the individual campus achievements, the state gave FBISD an overall district ranking of “Academically Acceptable.”
A district spokeswoman said FBISD “met all 25 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills measures for a recognized district, as well as meeting the state standards in dropout rates and student complettion rates.
However, it received the “Acceptable” rating “due to exceedint the limit on the number of under-reported students,” which includes former students who didn’t return to the district in the fall of 2008, and whose status couldn’t be verified by the TEA.
The FBISD spokeswoman said the district has appealed its “Acceptable” rating.
“Congratulations to our students, teachers and our entire school community for meeting all the required academic indicators for a recognized district,” said FBISD Superintendent Dr. Timothy Jenney. “The community can be rightfully proud of its children.”
He added he is “disappointed that we did not receive the recognized district rating based on reporting procedures. New measures are already in place that will address this issue in the future.”
This year’s TEA rankings improved overall across Texas, in part because of a new “growth measure” the agency calls the “Texas Projection Measure,” which gives schools credit for students’ academic growth, or their projected ability to pass TAKS tests in future years.
State TAKS scores showed FBISD exceeded the state average on all 26 of 27 tests taken in spring of 2009, and equalled the state average on the 27th test.
Of those 27 local test scores, 18 showed an increase over the previous school year, eight remained the same and one – 4th grade writing – declined slightly, the district said. Some of the test scores increased by 5% over the previous year, including 9th grade math and 11th grad science.
“Fort Bend ISD has shown significant improvement due to a strategic focus on instruction at the district and campus levels, said FBISD Chief Academic Officer Dr. John Frossard. “Student academic success has been improved through the work of teachers who consistently use data to increase learning opportunities for all of our students.”
FBISD schools achieving an Exemplary rating included two middle schools and 18 elementary schools:
Sartartia Middle School
Fort Settlement Middle School
Lakeview Elementary
Meadows Elementary
Colony Bend Elementary
Sugar Mill Elementary
Settlers Way Elementary
Palmer Elementary
Highlands Elementary
Pecan Grove Elementary
Austin Parkway Elmentary
Barrington Place Elementary
Colony Meadows Elementary
Walker Station Elementary
Commonwealth Elementary
Brazos Bend Elementary
Sienna Crossing Elementary
Rita Drabek Elementary
Scanlan Oaks Elementary
Cornerstone Elementary
Schools rated Recognized included eight of FBISD’s 10 high schools, one middle school and 14 elementary schools:
Dulles High School
Clements High School
Kempner High School
Austin High School
Hightower High School
Bush High School
Marshall High School
Travis High School
Garcia Middle School
Jones Elementary
Blue Ridge Elementary
Quail Valley Elementary
Dulles Elementary
Briargate Elementary
Hunters Glen Elementary
Mission Glen Elementary
Mission West Elementary
Glover Elementary
Oyster Creek Elementary
Barbara Jordan Elementary
Oakland Elementary
Rosa Parks Elementary
Jan schiff Elementary
The remaining campuses – two high schools, 10 middle schools and 11 elementary schools, were ranked Acceptable:
Willowridge High School
Elkins High School
Dulles Middle School
Missouri City Middle School
Sugar Land Middle school
Quail Valley Middle School
First Colony Middle school
Christa McAuliffe Middle School
Hodges Bend Middle School
Lake Olympia Middle School
Billy Baines Middle School
Crockett Middle School
Ridgemont Elementary
Townewest Elementary
Lantern Lane Elementary
Ridgegate Elementary
Mission Bend Elementary
Lexington Creek Elementary
Arizona Fleming Elementary
Burton Elementary
Goodman Elementary
Holley Elementary
Armstrong Elementary
None of the district’s schools were rated “Academically Unacceptable.”
Point # 1: Speaking of incongruence and all things not being equal or comparable–Do not forget the AYP; school who may have met the criteria for satisfactory performance on TAKS (Texas indication of student academic success) can still find itself in trouble by not having met AYP Standards (national indication of student academic success.
Point # 2: You “betcha” the supt has a twinkle in his eyes, standing with both feet on the teachers’ bent backs in anticipation for asking for his bonus based upon the increased student achievement scores impacted by daily interaction of teacher to student success. Yet, the teachers will absolutely not receive any bonus incentive, in fact, they will only be able to count themselves lucky to get paid on time the same pay as last year.
Poor teacher seem to never benefit from their own successful production; other people get back off their success.
The reason education is top heavy with administration is because the teacher’s work is too difficult. Why work hard for peanuts when you can reap the benefits of the teacher’s hard work and “get paid” in the process. Gone is the day whereby people entered education because it was a noble profession and they had “ a calling and a real talent” to inspire and teach others. People come into education nowadays looking for an administrative position, day one. They do not come to teach; teaching for a lot of folk is filler and a happenstance on the way to an administrative position. Have you ever wondered why no ones knows anything in education anymore?
Educators my age are headed out the door and some of us stayed a little longer because we hated to give the profession completely over to the wolves nipping at our heels.
If you think education does not live up to what it should be at this point—You ain’t seen nothing yet.
Everyone is familiar with the social security card problem whereby our country has to take severe steps to fend off the infiltration of falsified social security cards, well ladies and gentleman, social security ain’t the only governmental agency with infiltration problems; education, another governmental entity has had its share of infiltration of falsified credentials and alias also; that’s another reason education ain’t what everyone would expect.
It is difficult to behave and model what “you are not”.
When I was in college nearly 40 years ago, the overarching goal was to produce college educated individuals who were not only educated in one area of their respective strength, but, one had to know with reasonable adeptness other areas as well like art, science, mathematics, English, literature, and also at my college, we could not graduate without first having passed a voice & articulation test, the college told us teachers to be that we absolutely could not go out into the schools modeling poor speech and articulation to children, etc; additionally, an expectation within the goal of being the recipient of a true education encompassed producing an ethical person of integrity in whatever his/her life’s pursuit.
Need I say more?
I’m very appreciative for the hard work my kid’s teachers provide and the compensation, often late by weeks, they are given. I do not like when the state introduces a new measure though that makes it hard to actually compare this years scores with last years, especially with a “projection of what they want scores to be” (i.e. TPM – see article above) and not actual performance numbers.
I also don’t like it when we hire new layers of administration in the central office or when spending is diverted to non-instructional programs like the new $30 million dollar building – museum going in next to the central office or when the superintendent gives himself 3 raises or pays his senior level admins nearly what the last supt was making in total and then says they need more money via our taxes to pay down debt (again non-instructional uses). Sorry, I appreciate the teachers, but not the poor planning by the supt and board!
This is the second year in a row they are raising my property taxes on top of the nearly 11% average county-wide appraisal increase. And guess what, none of it is going to raise my children’s teachers salary, but you want to bet that the supt. asks for another “bonus”.
Congratulations to the teachers of Fort Bend County! Those in Lamar CISD, Fort Bend ISD and even Needville ISD.
Most people do not know exactly how the rating of each school takes place. They rate schools based on the % passing of each ethnic group. If a campus has 5% or less of a particular ethnic group, those percent passing in that group will NOT apply to the rating process. For example the reason of Baines Middle being acceptable is because it did not meet atleast 80% of students passing every subject in all ethnic groups as well as meeting the required improvement. Hightower HS had low passing rates as well as Terry HS(lamar) but they were ranked recognized because they met required improvment meaning an ethnic group’s percentage passing is above 70%. It is false to say LCISD outscored FBISD, because the rating process differs from school to school based on enrollment and ethnicity as well as economic standards.
This may not make sense but the rating process is very detailed and difficult to understand…too much to explain over FB now.
Source: My brother in law works for the Texas Education Agency.
I am pleased to know that our schools here in FBC are improving every year. Again, congrats to all districts and their staff.
To Santhony,
Yes, the new measure is accounting for these high scores. But that doesn’t discount how hard teachers work every year with dwindingling budgets and overcrowded classrooms. I wonder how much of a raise teachers and para’s can reasonably expect this year.
I wonder how we can even get an objective baseline comparison when they keep changing the baseline? Could someone get the scores and adjust for the TPM to get an accurate comparison to last years scores? This pretty lame if you ask me. I sure wish I could of averaged in the score I wanted on the LSAT instead of the actual scores. I wonder why no other national or professional assessment uses such a measure? And then to watch these local superintendents crowing about it is pretty funny and all that while running a 15 million dollar projected budget deficit and asking, once again to raise our taxes after the CAD has already increased them 10.8% on avg. across the county. What a bunch!
Something you may have missed:
This year’s TEA rankings improved overall across Texas, in part because of a new “growth measure” the agency calls the “TEXAS PROJECTION MEASURE” which gives schools credit for students’ academic growth, or their PROJECTED ABILITY to pass TAKS tests in future years.
It surpise me that Hightoer HS and Marshal HS surpassed Elkins HS and Billy Baines MS in Sienna Plantation community residents, when Sienna Crossing Elem. has strong Acedamic students graduating.
Well what I really meant to say after reading the other article on how often the district pays the instructors late, that they would at least pay them on time. I bet the supt. wouldn’t like it if his salary was delayed sometimes for months.
Congratulations Teachers!!!
Teachers are the #1 vital and important, professional in the field of education having the most impact on student success!!!!
However, the Teachers receive less monetary compensation. In education, the farther distant from the daily contact with children, the greater your salary and the greater your perceived importance and prestige. It’s upside-down logic; but that’s the way it is. There are a lot of upside-down logics in our society like why do professional football, basketball players, etc. make such mind boggling salaries compared to educators who create all other professions or doctors who save lives, etc. I am not expecting a response; I am just being rhetoric in my self questioning and wondering.
I think it’s rather premature to congratulate Jenney for turning anything around. The grading components (projecting improvement) alone would have made a significant difference in year to year scoring. The real astonishment is that kidos are able to learn at all, with so many stuffed into each class. My thanks and great respect go out to the teachers in the classrooms and our students who learn in spite of over crowed classrooms.
LCISD schools over scored FBISD, does LCISD offers hugher wage salaries to it higher skill teachers?
“This year’s TEA rankings improved overall across Texas, in part because of a new “growth measure” the agency calls the “Texas Projection Measure,” which gives schools credit for students’ academic growth, or their projected ability to pass TAKS tests in future years.”
I wonder if calculating the new “projected” student performance had anything to do with the higher scores across the state? It’s also amazing that the district is still only rated “acceptable”.
Well we sure can thank those teachers for working so hard. Now if the administration could just see fit to pay/reward them for their hard work….
Congrats to Dr Jenney and his team for turning around FBISD.
FBISD had been in decline for several years prior to his tenure. I’m sure everyone is pleased with the improved results.
Thanks to all the teachers and volunteers who take education of children seriously.