A Closer Look at AISD's Ratings

Austin Independent School District's campuses have seen big improvements under the state's latest accountability ratings. But there are significant questions being asked about what, if anything, those ratings actually measure.

The good news is that the district itself was classified "academically acceptable," while 109 of the 110 campuses either met or exceeded the minimum standards. Out of that total, 32 schools reached the state's highest ranking of "exemplary" – up from 24 last year, while 36 were classified as "recog­nized." In a statement, AISD Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said, "These ratings for 2010 show us where our hard work has paid off, and where more work is needed."

In total, 37 schools increased their rankings by at least one level. However, three elementaries dropped from exemplary to recog­nized (Bryker Woods, Boone, and Davis), while seven (Blazier, Casey, Kocurek, Menchaca, Odom, Walnut Creek, and Wooldridge) fell from recognized to academ­ic­al­ly acceptable. In a statement, AISD put the declines for most of these campuses down to "the increase in the standards required to be a Recognized campus in 2010" rather than actual performance changes.

At the bottom end of the scale, only one AISD school, Green Tech at Eastside Mem­orial, was classified as "academically unacceptable." Seven (Garcia, Lamar, Martin, Mendez, and Pearce middle schools, as well as LBJ and Reagan high schools) rose to academically acceptable. However, in order to hit those standards, three of those schools (Garcia, Mendez, and Pearce) had to use the new Texas Projection Measure, which uses regression analysis to predict whether students will reach required standards in future years. House Public Education Committee Chair Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, has been highly critical of that measure for disguising real results. However, Texas Com­mis­sioner of Education Robert Scott said he believes the system to be "reliable. Nonetheless, I am willing to re-examine its use because we want the public to have complete faith in the school ratings."

Whatever happens, the system will undergo a major upheaval next year when Texas schools shift over from the current Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests to the new State of Texas Assess­ments of Academic Readiness testing system. The Texas Education Agency will have to start building a new accountability system later this year, and the change will mean there will be no school ratings released for 2012. "The 2011 rating will hold over for an extra year while we crank the new system up in 2013," said TEA spokesperson Debbie Ratcliffe. "So hope for a good rating that year if you're a school administrator."