GISD schools rated acceptable; district is labeled unacceptable

The Texas Education Agency this week released its 2006 ratings for Texas schools as part of the state's public school accountability system.

Each school in the state's more than 1,000 school districts was assigned one of four ratings - academically unacceptable, academically acceptable, recognized and exemplary - based primarily on students' scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills - the TAKS tests - taken last spring.

While all schools in the Gonzales Independent School District were rated academically acceptable, the district's rating was academically unacceptable.

Gonzales ISD Superintendent Dr. Steven Ebell said the unacceptable rating was based on science TAKS results. He explained that the state accountability system includes the TAKS scores of all students and student groups. For the Gonzales ISD, student groups include students who are white, Hispanic, African American and economically disadvantaged.

The African American student group did not meet the required passing rate of 35 percent on the science exam while all other student groups exceeded this rate, Ebell said.

"I am very disappointed that our district will be labeled academically unacceptable," Ebell said in a press release distributed to local news media. "We have detailed plans in place to ensure that we will improve in all TAKS tested areas but especially in science this coming year."

In all other tested areas - mathematics, reading, writing and social studies - the all-student group was rated acceptable. Overall, 85 percent of the all-student group passed reading; 88 percent passed writing; 91 percent passed social studies; 70 percent passed mathematics; and 62 percent passed science.

"We have seen great improvements by all student groups on the TAKS," Gonzales ISD board President Josie Smith-Wright said. "It's a shame that the school district is being labeled unacceptable on the basis of such a small group of students taking the science test. "We will improve in this area."