TEA Ratings Released: 153 schools statewide earn all seven stars, 12 DISD schools including Woodrow Wilson HS! (Houston: 2015, chapel)

[Lakewooder]

153 campuses earn all seven distinctions in 2015 accountability ratings


Campuses (listed alphabetically by school district or charter) that earned all seven distinctions in 2015 are as follows:
•Alief ISD – Kerr High School
•Amarillo ISD – Lorenzo De Zavala Middle School
•Argyle ISD – Argyle High School
•Arlington ISD (2) – Bailey Junior High School; Gunn Junior High School
•Austin ISD (3) – Anderson High School; LASA High School; Ann Richards School For Young Women
•Birdville ISD – Smithfield Middle School
•Borden County ISD – Borden County School
•Brownsville ISD (2) – Pace High School; Veterans Memorial High School
•Bryan ISD – Bryan Collegiate High School
•Carroll ISD (2) – Carroll Middle School; George Dawson Middle School
•Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD (3) – Smith High School; Creekview High School; Ranchview High School
•Cedar Hill ISD (Tyler) – Cedar Hill Collegiate High School
•Chapel Hill ISD – Chapel Hill High School
•Cisco ISD – Cisco High School
•Clear Creek ISD (2) – Clear Lake High School; Clear Horizons Early College High School
•Comal ISD (2) – Memorial Early College High School; Church Hill Middle School
•Dallas ISD (12) – Hillcrest High School; Woodrow Wilson High School; Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School (High School); School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center; W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy; William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academic Talented and Gifted; Dallas Environmental Science Academy; George Bannerman Dealey Montessori Vanguard and International Academy; Trinidad Garza Early College High School; Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School (Middle School); Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy; Rosemont Middle School
•Early ISD – Early High School
•El Paso ISD (4) – El Paso High School; Silva Health Magnet High School; Transmountain Early College High School; Wiggs Middle School
•Eula ISD – Eula High School
•Fairfield ISD – Fairfield High School
•Falls City ISD – Falls City High School
•Fort Bend ISD (4) – Dulles High School; Clements High School; Stephen F. Austin High School; Fort Settlement Middle School
•Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts – Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts (Grades 7–12)
•Fort Worth ISD (3) – McLean Middle School; Young Women’s Leadership Academy; Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences
• Frisco ISD – Fowler Middle School
• Galveston ISD – Austin Middle School
•Garland ISD – North Garland High School
•Grand Prairie ISD (3) – Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy; John A. Dubiski Career High School; Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute
•Harlandale ISD – Terrell Wells Middle School
•Harmony School of Excellence – Houston (2) – Harmony School of Advancement (Houston); Harmony School of Discovery (Houston)
•Harmony School of Science – Houston (2) – Harmony School of Science (Sugarland); Harmony Science Academy (Katy)
•Harmony Science Academy – El Paso – Harmony Science Academy (El Paso)
•Harmony Science Academy – Waco (3) – Harmony School of Innovation (Carrollton); Harmony Science Academy (Euless); Harmony School of Innovation (Fort Worth)
•Harmony Science Academy – Austin – Harmony Science Academy (Pflugerville)
•Houston ISD (11) – Bellaire High School; The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts; DeBakey High School for Health Professions; T.H. Rogers School; Lanier Middle School; Project Chrysalis Middle School; Wharton K–8 Dual Language Academy; Eastwood Academy; Carnegie Vanguard High School; Challenge Early College High School; Pin Oak Middle School
•Hudson ISD (2) – Hudson High School; Hudson Middle School
•IDEA Public Schools (5) – IDEA Quest College Preparatory (Edinburg); IDEA Frontier College Preparatory (Brownsville); IDEA McAllen College Preparatory (McAllen); IDEA Brownsville College Preparatory (Brownsville); IDEA Carver College Preparatory (San Antonio)
•Irving ISD – Jack E. Singley Academy
•Jayton-Girard ISD – Jayton Schools
•Katy ISD (6) – Taylor High School; Seven Lakes High School; Tompkins High School; Garland McMeans Junior High School; Beckendorff Junior High School; Seven Lakes Junior High School
•Kerrville ISD – Tivy High School
•KIPP Austin Public Schools (2) – KIPP Austin Collegiate (Austin); KIPP Academy of Arts and Letters (Austin)
•Klondike ISD – Klondike ISD
•Lindale ISD – Lindale Junior High School
•Lone Oak ISD – Lone Oak High School
•Los Fresnos CISD – Los Cuates Middle School
•Lubbock ISD (3) – Talkington School for Young Women Leaders; Cavazos Middle School; Hutchinson Middle School
•Mart ISD – Mart Middle School
•Martins Mill ISD – Martins Mill High School
•Maypearl ISD – Maypearl Junior High School
•McAllen ISD – Cathey Middle School
•Meridian World School LLC – Meridian World School LLC (Round Rock)
•Midland ISD – Early College High School at Midland College
•Northside ISD (2) – Clark High School; Health Careers High School
•NYOS Charter School – NYOS Charter School (Austin)
•Odem-Edroy ISD – Odem Junior High School
•Palacios ISD – Palacios High School
•Pearland ISD – Pearland Junior High West
•Pittsburg ISD – Pittsburg Junior High School
•Plano ISD – C.M. Rice Middle School
•Port Aransas ISD – Brundrett Middle School
•Poth ISD – Poth Junior High School
•Richardson ISD (2) – Richardson High School; Richardson West Junior High School
•Rio Grande City CISD – Rio Grande City High Schoo
•Roby CISD – Roby High School
•Round Rock ISD (2) – Westwood High School; Canyon Vista Middle School
•Sabine Pass ISD – Sabine Pass School
•San Antonio ISD – Young Women’s Leadership Academy
•Sharyland ISD (2) – Sharyland High School; B.L. Gray Junior High School
•Slocum ISD – Slocum High School
•Socorro ISD – Mission Early College High School
•South Texas ISD (3) – South Texas Business, Education & Technology Academy; South Texas Academy for Medical Professions; South Texas Preparatory Academy
•Spring Branch ISD – Cornerstone Academy
•Sundown ISD – Sundown High School
•Uplift Education – Hampton Preparatory – Uplift Education- Hampton Preparatory High School (Dallas)
•Uplift Education – North Hills Preparatory – Uplift Education-North Hills Preparatory High School (Irving)
•Uplift Education – Williams Preparatory – Uplift Education-Williams Preparatory High School (Dallas)
•Uplift Education – Summit International Preparatory – Uplift Education-Summit International Preparatory Middle Campus (Arlington)
•Valley View ISD (Pharr) – Valley View High School
•Vanguard Academy – Vanguard Academy (Pharr)
• Wellington ISD – Wellington High School
• Westlake Academy Charter School (Tarrant County) – Westlake Academy
• Whitewright ISD – Whitewright Middle School
• Wylie ISD (Collin County) – Raymond B. Cooper Junior High School
• Ysleta ISD (5) – Riverside High School; Del Valle High School; Valle Verde Early College High School; Ranchland Hills Middle School; Camino Real Middle School

To view the 2015 state accountability ratings for districts, charters and campuses (plus distinction designations earned at the campus and district level), visit the Texas Education Agency website at 2015 Accountability Ratings.

[Lakewooder]

According to this, there are 8,317 public schools in Texas: Texas Public School - List of Texas Public Schools

[LookingInRichardson]

I'm certainly no expert and my cursory review of the data suggests that the methodology is quite complex.

BUT - my neighborhood elementary school which was consistently exemplary under the old model got no distinctions. It had a student achievement index of 94 (well above the target score of 60) and somehow wasn't eligible for distinctions in several categories.

In order to receive all 7 distinctions, you have to be in the top 25% of "Closing Performance Gaps". This is defined as follows: "Closing Performance Gaps emphasizes the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and the two lowest-performing racial/ethnic groups." It's no wonder that you don't see some of the "powerhouse" schools on this list. TEA had a very easily understood system in the past, and now has one that most laypeople will have no idea how to interpret. It seems skewed towards urban districts and schools that have unperformed in the past.

Congratulations to the schools that earned these distinctions; I'm sure there was a lot of hard work involved and these schools surely deserve the accolades; however I don't think this is a list of the best 153 schools in the state as one might logically conclude - far from it.

[unknown00]

Surprised not much Plano/Frisco

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by LookingInRichardson

I'm certainly no expert and my cursory review of the data suggests that the methodology is quite complex.

BUT - my neighborhood elementary school which was consistently exemplary under the old model got no distinctions. It had a student achievement index of 94 (well above the target score of 60) and somehow wasn't eligible for distinctions in several categories.

In order to receive all 7 distinctions, you have to be in the top 25% of "Closing Performance Gaps". This is defined as follows: "Closing Performance Gaps emphasizes the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and the two lowest-performing racial/ethnic groups." It's no wonder that you don't see some of the "powerhouse" schools on this list. TEA had a very easily understood system in the past, and now has one that most laypeople will have no idea how to interpret. It seems skewed towards urban districts and schools that have unperformed in the past.

Congratulations to the schools that earned these distinctions; I'm sure there was a lot of hard work involved and these schools surely deserve the accolades; however I don't think this is a list of the best 153 schools in the state as one might logically conclude - far from it.

Regarding your last sentence you are 100% correct.

IMO this kind of nonsense underscores that the only high school metrics that really matter are SAT/ACT participation rates and scores, graduation rates and then some contextual understanding of grades.

To me everything else is chatter. IB, AP etc. are interesting to discuss but show me the SAT scores. Things like percentage improvement between various cadres of kids is interesting and likely valuable to professional administrators but near meaningless to me.

Let me know when Woodrow Wilson bumps its SAT participation rate 10 points and its SAT average to above 1500.

[M.abus]

The last information I saw showed that Woodrow Wilson, Hillcrest and other DISD schools have dramatically increased their SAT participation rate. The district now pays the fees for SAT, ACT, AP and IB tests. Of course, that has caused the average scores to fall as more take the tests. However, WW SAT scores have been on an upward trend, even with the large increase in students taking them.

I'm sure some would have a lot to say if the school were rated academically unacceptable.

Let's give credit where credit is due.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by LookingInRichardson

I'm certainly no expert and my cursory review of the data suggests that the methodology is quite complex.

BUT - my neighborhood elementary school which was consistently exemplary under the old model got no distinctions. It had a student achievement index of 94 (well above the target score of 60) and somehow wasn't eligible for distinctions in several categories.

In order to receive all 7 distinctions, you have to be in the top 25% of "Closing Performance Gaps". This is defined as follows: "Closing Performance Gaps emphasizes the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and the two lowest-performing racial/ethnic groups." It's no wonder that you don't see some of the "powerhouse" schools on this list. TEA had a very easily understood system in the past, and now has one that most laypeople will have no idea how to interpret. It seems skewed towards urban districts and schools that have unperformed in the past.

Congratulations to the schools that earned these distinctions; I'm sure there was a lot of hard work involved and these schools surely deserve the accolades; however I don't think this is a list of the best 153 schools in the state as one might logically conclude - far from it.

Agree 100%. Of the high schools with the 20 highest SAT scores in DFW, only 3 are on this list and they are all magnet / charter (DISD TAG, Uplift Northern Hills, & Westlake Academy).

Schools that improve the performance of ED and minority schools are awesome and deserve accolades. But to exclude all the schools whose ED/minority students are already performing at high levels from the highest TEA rating is complete crap. Shouldn't DISD's SEM magnet- the #1 public high school in America- receive the TEA's top status? This rating system is crazy.

[synchronicity]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Agree 100%. Of the high schools with the 20 highest SAT scores in DFW, only 3 are on this list and they are all magnet / charter (DISD TAG, Uplift Northern Hills, & Westlake Academy).

Schools that improve the performance of ED and minority schools are awesome and deserve accolades. But to exclude all the schools whose ED/minority students are already performing at high levels from the highest TEA rating is complete crap. Shouldn't DISD's SEM magnet- the #1 public high school in America- receive the TEA's top status? This rating system is crazy.

I'm wondering if the system is set up to show what the SCHOOLS should emphasize, rather than "rating system parents should look at". I think getting away from "teaching to the test" and instead getting schools to pursue a broad array of overall goals is a good thing, so if that's what the TEA system is set up to accomplish, then I would generally support it.

That said, I pretty much agree that in terms of high schools, as a parent I'm looking at SAT/ACT scores and participation rates, with a secondary view of demographics (again, the idea that the HPs and Carrolls of the world SHOULD do well given what they've got to work with, and so give boatloads of credit to the Plano East's and Pearce's of the world that accomplish great things with less affluent student bodies).

[theloneranger]

If anything, Karen Dillard's and Princeton Review deserve a lot more credit than the high schools in securing those great SAT scores. They do show that those schools have smart, well-prepared (and generally well-to-do) kids, but it's hard to say they're a reflection of the quality of instruction at the school. Average AP scores and AP passing rates, on the other hand, would be a much better representation of a campus' educational quality.

The point of the new ratings system was to stop punishing schools with Unacceptable status simply because one subset failed one test (if I recall correctly, Woodrow was AU one year because low-income Latino boys failed the science exam by 1%). The new system includes the closing performance gaps measure so that these groups are not left behind, but a single subset can no longer cause a school to be Improvement Required.

The distinctions are comparing schools to a peer group with similar demographics. HP didn't fail to get all distinctions because of closing performance gaps. They have so few minority students that they don't even have a score for that index, and HP would have appeared on that list if it had earned a distinction in Student Progress, which it didn't. Other school in their peer group, including Flower Mound High, Frisco Liberty, Flower Mound Marcus, and Austin Westlake, had higher progress, which is based on students increasing their scores from the previous year (or getting to Level III Advanced, regardless of change of score).

Likewise, SEM may be #1 in the country on measures of "number of students taking the AP Exam," but in terms of improving their kids' STAAR scores, they got beat out by almost half of their peer group (which mostly consists of other magnets and early college high schools). Schools with smart kids aren't penalized by this measure--Travis TAG, with a 62 student progress score, was #1 in the state. This means that schools like HP and SEM could be doing an even better job of educating their kids than they are now, even if they're doing a very good job as it is.

Woodrow deserves a lot of credit for its scores and distinctions; Lakewood Elementary also deserves a great deal of credit for its astounding 97% passing rate on the STAAR exams (beating Stonewall for the first time in many years). Long still has some work to do--their scores were behind both Walker and Franklin, which shouldn't be the case given Long's demographic advantages. And both Mount Auburn and Mata were Improvement Required with just abysmal passing rates (55% at Mount Auburn).

[Emc62]

NO DFW school with significant numbers of ED and ESL students produces better results then Plano East. Lakewood deserves applause for trying. Keep trying and one day, you'll get there. Just don't rely on TEA ratings, doesn't mean much.