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Mesquite ISD - 35,983 students
Caucasian 34.6%
Hispanic 37.7%
African-Am 23.9%
Asian 3.3%
ESL 15.9%
Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD - 26,239 students
Caucasian 25.8%
Hispanic 48.9%
African-Am 14.2%
Asian 14.2%
ESL 25.5%
I stand corrected. (I'm also surprised.) But I do question how many are being "double counted" - that is, counted as being both white and Hispanic. I remember that being a problem for censuses in the past.
But I should've known better. Dallas is 53% white with a 95% minority school system; no reason why Mesquite wouldn't be 65% white with a 35% white system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read
and I really can't believe that HEB has less than 12% of ESL students
I know how you feel. I'm e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y hard pressed to believe Mesquite ISD is only 35% white.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpeagle21
It confuses me why you would even make that statement. Are you scared or intimidated by the fact that a lower income area might actually be doing ok on TAKS? Do you want cities that are "browner" (in your words) to fail? Does it make you feel better about living in your "whiter" neighborhood if that happens?
Darling, I'm as black as Richard Roundtree in "Shaft in Africa" and was born and raised - and currently living - on the east side. Try again.
ROLROC--I think the poster meant that it was more a fluke that Coppell HS was ranked unacceptable--that it was one of the glitches that TAKS can create that clouds the true quality of a school and its teaching
ACNTX--I have never even been to Lancaster--you can defend your town--but my friends who are 55-60 ages do there every few weeks to check up on his mother--I was giving their point of view and frankly--even though I don't believe that TAKS ranking is the make or break deciding factor in how good a school or ISD is--to have a score a score that low means that is little going right in that district---
I don't think Wilmer Hutchens was much lower and it was taken over by TEA not because of its educational weakness but the economic failure of the board/district--but when NCLB really kicks in Lancaster is going to lose a LOT of funding--both Federal and state because it does not look like there is any improvement going on there ...
that's not how i interpreted it since coppell's TAKS scores and high ranking suggest coppell as strong (which by the way it is) based on rankings initially listed in this thread. it could have been left at that or not even mentioned but he made it a point to state that coppell hs was initially rated unacceptable (later changed to acceptable). but ok
Out of curiosity, does *anybody* here think that Lancaster ISD has a chance to make it? I just don't see how it's not going to get Hutchened, and it really saddens me.
actually try being a resident of the US for two years and because of the time you entered and the date the TAKS was given you were required to take it 11 months after you started living here--and you never went to school in your home country--
that happens--how can a student who cannot read with any fluency in HIS/HER native tongue-be expected to pass the TAKS test on a high school level or any level really in ENGLISH--
a student gets one exemption from the TAKS for ESL -- if the TAKS is given the day they enroll-that is their pass even if they speak/read/write no English-the next time that portion comes around--BANG the score counts---usually negatively for low-income, minority and ESL--a triple bagger so to speak
there are many students who because of their enrollment dates and the date TAKS is given (the ELA portion in HS is given earlier than the last 3 portions) have fewer than 12 mo in school (remember summer break) to not just learn English but to learn how to take a sophisticated fluency test like TAKS
the state made an arbitrary cutoff time that has no real relationship to what an ESL student is capable of...
we have had students in our hs (district) who never went to school a day in their lives before coming to America--some were from the Sudan region of Africa. We have had students from many different countries -- some elementary ages certainly--but you would be surprised how many jr high and high school age students could not really read and write in their own languages --- you cannot imagine how difficult it is to learn to read and write in English when you have NEVER been taught how to do that with any degree of fluency in your HOME language--it is just a really steep learning curve--uphill...
SOUTHERN LIVING--do you really think that comparing the % of students at Carroll ISD who get commended or in Highland Park and comparing with even Grapevine Colleyville what you see will tell you anything you don't already know...
I would imagine that Carroll and Highland Park also have the highest % of commended scores on high school level...
want to see good teaching--see how many students make the National Merit Semifinalists out of total student body---
FTW ISD--Paschal HS had super # who made that list last year--I think 14 students--more than most other DISTRICTS -- not just other high schools-- in the DFW area
but I am sure because of Paschal's student body it received the same Acceptable...
Last edited by loves2read; 07-23-2008 at 05:05 PM..
PennyG--I don't think for TAKS purposes any student is double counted--the ap's are usually in charge of the decyphering the test statistics at each school and they know specifically how many students there are in each sub group
if they had double counted students they would have more students than tests and more students foir enrollment purposes which TEA really looks tightly at--and TAKS gives a specific number of test booklets based on enrollment date--they never want to have many extras floating around and if too many come back unused there has to be special report since TEA is afraid the school would be telling borderline students to stay home during testing to artificially inflate scores...
ACNTX--I have never even been to Lancaster--you can defend your town--but my friends who are 55-60 ages do there every few weeks to check up on his mother--I was giving their point of view and frankly--even though I don't believe that TAKS ranking is the make or break deciding factor in how good a school or ISD is--to have a score a score that low means that is little going right in that district---
I don't think Wilmer Hutchens was much lower and it was taken over by TEA not because of its educational weakness but the economic failure of the board/district--but when NCLB really kicks in Lancaster is going to lose a LOT of funding--both Federal and state because it does not look like there is any improvement going on there ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by PennyGWoods
Out of curiosity, does *anybody* here think that Lancaster ISD has a chance to make it? I just don't see how it's not going to get Hutchened, and it really saddens me.
There are stark differences between the current situation in Lancaster ISD and that of Wilmer-Hutchins. First, Wilmer-Hutchins had been problematic for years and years. The poor leadership, habitually low test scores, and lack of community support meant that the district could pretty much do nothing but fail. My aunt lives in that area and refused to send her daughter to Wilmer-Hutchins schools. She instead attended Dallas schools and got a good education. This was common practice in the Wilmer-Hutchins area and the fact that the district only had 2,900 students enrolled in its final year, down from a peak of over 4,000.
Now to Lancaster. There have been issues with the superintendent and the board, but this is a recent occurence. There is still community support for the schools here and parents made their voices heard in May when they voted out most of the previous school board that was seen as ineffective.
The test scores in Lancaster ISD have never been low enough for the district as a whole or a majority of its schools to receive an "Academically Unacceptable" rating, a regularity in Wilmer-Hutchins. Lancaster schools actually performed better on the previous standardized TAAS test. The high school received a rating of "Recognized" in 2001 and 2002. The problems arose when the test changed to TAKS. A lot of the campuses started from a low point and have since improved but I agree that the test scores should be better.
In contrast to Wilmer-Hutchins, the total number of students in Lancaster schools has steadily increased from around 4,200 in 2000 to over 6,000 last year. That figure is expected to continue rising. Lancaster's growth is similar to that of the neighboring cities in southwest Dallas County - DeSoto, Cedar Hill, and Glenn Heights, while Wilmer, Hutchins, and the portion of Dallas that was part of Wilmer-Hutchins ISD have continued to struggle and stagnate.
actually try being a resident of the US for two years and because of the time you entered and the date the TAKS was given you were required to take it 11 months after you started living here--and you never went to school in your home country--
that happens--how can a student who cannot read with any fluency in HIS/HER native tongue-be expected to pass the TAKS test on a high school level or any level really in ENGLISH--
a student gets one exemption from the TAKS for ESL -- if the TAKS is given the day they enroll-that is their pass even if they speak/read/write no English-the next time that portion comes around--BANG the score counts---usually negatively for low-income, minority and ESL--a triple bagger so to speak
there are many students who because of their enrollment dates and the date TAKS is given (the ELA portion in HS is given earlier than the last 3 portions) have fewer than 12 mo in school (remember summer break) to not just learn English but to learn how to take a sophisticated fluency test like TAKS
the state made an arbitrary cutoff time that has no real relationship to what an ESL student is capable of...
we have had students in our hs (district) who never went to school a day in their lives before coming to America--some were from the Sudan region of Africa. We have had students from many different countries -- some elementary ages certainly--but you would be surprised how many jr high and high school age students could not really read and write in their own languages --- you cannot imagine how difficult it is to learn to read and write in English when you have NEVER been taught how to do that with any degree of fluency in your HOME language--it is just a really steep learning curve--uphill...
SOUTHERN LIVING--do you really think that comparing the % of students at Carroll ISD who get commended or in Highland Park and comparing with even Grapevine Colleyville what you see will tell you anything you don't already know...
I would imagine that Carroll and Highland Park also have the highest % of commended scores on high school level...
want to see good teaching--see how many students make the National Merit Semifinalists out of total student body---
FTW ISD--Paschal HS had super # who made that list last year--I think 14 students--more than most other DISTRICTS -- not just other high schools-- in the DFW area
but I am sure because of Paschal's student body it received the same Acceptable...
You are right.
I wasnt clear enough. I meant "commended" performance level is best for comparing schools within school districts
My aunt lives in that area and refused to send her daughter to Wilmer-Hutchins schools. She instead attended Dallas schools and got a good education. This was common practice in the Wilmer-Hutchins area and the fact that the district only had 2,900 students enrolled in its final year, down from a peak of over 4,000.
I read somewhere that over 600 WHISD families were sending their kids to Dallas or Lancaster schools. (Gee, Mr. Cosby, I thought African-Americans didn't value education...)
Quote:
The test scores in Lancaster ISD have never been low enough for the district as a whole or a majority of its schools to receive an "Academically Unacceptable" rating, a regularity in Wilmer-Hutchins. Lancaster schools actually performed better on the previous standardized TAAS test. The high school received a rating of "Recognized" in 2001 and 2002. The problems arose when the test changed to TAKS. A lot of the campuses started from a low point and have since improved but I agree that the test scores should be better.
That's good to know.
O/T, something disturbed me about WHISD - the sudden drop in scores from four to six:
Quote:
Fourth grade
Reading: 262nd
Math: 51st
Writing: 95th
All tests: 137th
(82.8% passed all tests)
Fifth grade
Reading: 337th
Math: 421st
Science: 225th
All tests: 348th
(58.4% passed all tests)
Sixth grade
Reading: 488th
Math: 488th
All tests: 488th
(27.3% passed all tests)
What happens between grades four and five to cause such a plunge? Was this ever even brought up in WHISD?
This article isn't about Lancaster, but about Dallas ISD, but it discusses students whose scores drop over the years and what the common problem is - the kids get the worst teacher in the grade year after year. This is why it would be nice to have TAKS scores released by classroom (but not by teacher name). The court ruled the scores could not be released by classroom due to privacy issues, but the districts know the scores by classrooms.
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