Published: August 15, 2008 12:29 pm            

Commerce High School rated Unacceptable

District Acceptable, Commerce Elementary and A.C. Williams Recognized, Commerce Middle School Acceptable

Commerce High School was rated Academically Unacceptable in the latest results released from the Texas Education Agency.

The Commerce Independent School District did receive an overall rating of Academically Acceptable, with A.C. Williams and Commerce Elementary both receiving Recognized ratings. The rating of CES is tied to A.C. Williams since students at CES do not take the TAKS test. Commerce Middle School was rated Acceptable.

Districts are rated on several factors, but much of the rating is based on the students’ performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge Skills, or TAKS test.

CISD Curriculum Director Danna Myers said the CHS campus was short in two areas. The number of African-American students passing the math portion of the test fell 7 percent in 2008. In 2007, 45 percent passed while 38 percent passed in 2008.

African-American students also failed to make the state standard in the science test. Although the number of African-American students who passed the science test actually increased 5 percent in 2008, Myers said the state raised the percentage needed to meet the state standard. In 2007, 35 percent of CHS African-American students passed the science portion of the TAKS, while in 2008, 40 percent passed.

“The state raised the standard for academically acceptable science scores from 40 to 45 (percent),” Myers said. “Even though we made a 5 percent gain, it didn’t yield us the same rating as it would have last year because of the higher standard.”

Myers said CISD is rated on 25 different measures that go toward its accountability rating.

“That’s the difference between a school like Commerce and school with less diversity — that wouldn’t, let’s say, have over 30 students that were economically disadvantaged,” she said. “If you don’t have at least 30 students in a student group then the district is not held accountable for that student’s performance in that student group.”

The scores are broken down in the district by all students, African-American, Hispanic, white and economically disadvantaged groups.

Thirteen areas at the high school improved, according to Myers.

“Unfortunately, those two areas at the high school level kept them from being Academically Acceptable,” she said. “We’re moving in the right direction with the 5 percent increase in science. We’ll keep moving that forward. Then we’re evaluating what we’re doing with mathematics.”

CISD saw a 4 percent gain at CHS for all students taking the math test. There was a 20 percent gain for Hispanic students, a 1 percent gain for white students and a 5 percent gain for economically disadvantaged students.

The district will have its work cut out for it. The percentage of passing students in both math and science at the high school to meet state standards will go up 5 points in 2009, according to Myers.

The district continues to review data, work on curriculum, provide staff development to teachers and conduct intensive tutorials with those students who did not pass at CHS to help bring up the low scores. She also said CISD is working to improve programs at the middle school to help better prepare students.

“We think that, in and of itself, will be a huge benefit to the performance of students at Commerce High School,” she said. “Our middle school math scores for the last two years have really made some nice improvements.”

All students at CMS are at 86 percent passing the math test and 71 percent of African-American students pass. Out-going eighth graders had a 91 percent rate of being successful on all TAKS test.

“We’re seeing the trend is an upward line for those students have been through the last two years of our curriculum improvements at middle school,” Myers said. “Our eighth graders who were tested as ninth graders in 08, those scores were at 71 percent. So we know that as eighth graders, they had a strong program and as ninth graders they out-performed the previous year’s ninth graders.

“We’re sending a stronger group of ninth graders in this freshman class. They had a 91 percent passing rate. So we think by strengthening that core program in our elementary and our middle school, it will reap benefits at the secondary level.”

Commerce is not the only district in the county to face unacceptable ratings. The entire Greenville district was rated Academically Unacceptable, along with Phoenix Charter School. Greenville Middle School and Bland Middle School were both rated Academically Unacceptable.

        

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