Seventy-two percent of NEISD campuses meet AYP standards
Today the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that 47 North East ISD campuses met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards for the federal rating system for 2011.
Last week, North East ISD received notification from TEA that the district received the designation of Recognized for the fourth year in a row, making it one of the largest districts in the state to receive this rating.
NEISD has 16 campuses rated as Exemplary and 24 schools rated Recognized for the 2010-2011 school year. The district had 25 campuses rated Academically Acceptable, and none of its campuses received a rating of Academically Unacceptable. NEISD is also Recognized without the Texas Projection Measure (TPM) for the second year in a row.
Although NEISD received the distinction of Recognized through the state accountability system, the district did not meet the federal rating system AYP. Just one student in one student subgroup can determine whether a district/campus does or does not meet AYP.
In the past two years, federal standards to meet AYP have exceeded state standards used
for academically acceptable ratings. This is the first year that the state accountability system was inclusive of all special education tested learners and ELL progress so this is the most commonality we have seen between the two systems.
When AYP was rolled out as part of NCLB in 2003, the established criteria was that 100 percent of students be successful on all tests by 2014, and the intent was to have 100 percent of all students graduate from high school.
"In North East, we have a commitment to both excellence and equity for all students, and we are treating these ratings with the seriousness they deserve," said Superintendent of Schools Brian G. Gottardy. "Our goal is for all students to perform at high academic levels. NEISD is making gains and teachers are working hard to make certain every student in our district receives the best possible education."
A challenge for the future is that the federal standards are rising annually until they reach 100 percent in 2014. As these standards approach 100 percent, the State is moving into a new accountability system, with more rigorous assessments. The passing standards for this system have not yet been established nor has any growth measure for student achievement.
The 2011 ratings will be the last ratings under the current accountability system -- Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). A new accountability system - State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) - will be developed during the 2011-2012 school year and implemented in 2012-2013. The current rating of Recognized will remain in effect over the next two years.
Posted on Aug. 4, 2011