Four Marble Falls campuses earn praise from TEA
“We’re very proud of our campuses for earning Gold Performance honors,” Superintendent Ryder Warren said Friday.
The TEA gives accountability ratings such as “acceptable,” “recognized” and “exemplary” based on students’ test scores. But those ratings only reflect the current test scores. Warren said the Gold Performance Awards compare the most current scores to the previous year.
“The Gold Performance Awards are based on a comparison from the test scores the year before,” he said. “It’s a look at how well the students improved.”
The honors are recognized at two levels — Comparable Improvement and Commended Performance.
A Comparable Improvement award goes to campuses where students show a marked improvement on tests when compared to the previous year. A Commended Performance award goes to campuses where scores are approaching perfect.
Colt Elementary School earned Comparable Improvement in reading and math; and Commended Performance in reading, math and science.
Highland Lakes Elementary School earned Commended Performance in math and writing. Marble Falls Elementary School earned Commended Performance in writing and science. Spicewood Elementary School earned Commended Performance in science.
Warren said the awards show that staff, students and parents aren’t just satisfied with passing the TAKS.
“It’s not enough just to focus on passing the tests,” Warren said. “When you as a school district see improving scores, that’s something to celebrate. But we want our kids to excel. That is what the Gold Performance Awards are for.”
Three of the campuses earned Commended Performance for math and/or science scores. These are two areas the district has begun emphasizing during the past two years. In the District Improvement Plan the School Board approved Monday, trustees wanted to know how educators were going to improve science and math scores.
Trustee Kelly Fox asked Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Cathy Gabro what steps the board and administration were taking to support the teachers in science and math instruction.
Gabro said the board has been extremely supportive of the instructional aspect. She also pointed out several items outlined in the improvement plan that relate to math and science education.
Part of the plan includes sending “targeted” teachers to approved science and math workshops, Gabro said.
Another aspect includes science journaling. This is where students record thoughts, ideas and information about a subject in a notebook or in another format. Educators say this helps reinforce the concepts and gives students a way to “think” on paper or through another media.
“One of the problems (students have) isn’t the science itself, but the vocabulary,” Gabro said. “We’re going to send teachers to science-journaling workshops. The students can then use journaling which will help with their science vocabulary.”
When President George W. Bush was governor of Texas, one of his big initiatives was improving reading education. While reading and writing remain cornerstones of knowledge, Warren said Gov. Rick Perry has put more emphasis on science and math.
“Reading and writing will always be the keys to a good education no matter if our students go on to a four-year college, an associate’s degree or vocational training,” Warren said. “But science and math are also very important to the future success of our students.”
The superintendent said the district uses the math and science TAKS scores to not only gauge where the individual students are, but also use them as a diagnostic tool.
“We take the results in each of the areas and get that information into the hands of the teachers so they can see what the students are needing help in,” Warren said. “We’re also sending our teachers more training.”
Though Marble Falls Middle School and Marble Falls High School didn’t earn any Gold Performance Awards, Warren said those campuses did experience significant improvement in tests scores, especially science and math.
“They are definitely making positive strides at those schools,” Warren said. “We experienced improvements as much as 10 points in (middle school and high school) math and science scores.”
The superintendent said it gets tougher at the secondary level to earn those Gold Performance Awards.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m satisfied,” Warren said. “In the future, the high school and middle school are going to get (Gold Performance) awards as well.”
daniel@thepicayune.com