Here is the Dallas news article...

[Guest guest]

 Discuss |  Subscribe |  Archives

Schools prize top marks in rating game

State sorts districts into 4 categories, but critics point to bigger

picture

07:17 AM CDT on Thursday, August 4, 2005

BY HOLLY K. HACKER / The Dallas Morning News

If home values are all about three words – location, location,

location – then school values boil down to four:

Exemplary, recognized, acceptable, unacceptable.

Those simple labels are applied annually to Texas' public schools

based on a complex formula that takes into account student scores on

standardized tests, dropouts and high school graduation rates.

The ratings, which were released this week, spark passion,

discussion – and sometimes obsession.

Teachers and parents celebrated in areas where schools experienced a

bump up in the hierarchy. Other parents had questions after seeing

their schools slide. Even real estate agents got in on the act.

DallasNews.com/extra

2005 statewide TAKS results

Compare schools side-by-side

Navigating Your School: Tips for parents, students, teachers

" Out here it means everything, " said Tom Grisak, a Realtor who works

in . His area includes the tiny Lovejoy Independent School

District, whose two campuses earned top marks for 2005. Mr. Grisak

posted the good news on his company Web site Tuesday.

" To say that both schools are exemplary, that is a huge selling

factor. I can't tell you what an asset that is, " he said. With homes

in the area priced at more than $500,000 on average, families demand

quality schools, Mr. Grisak said.

When the news isn't so good, educators end up more like company

executives explaining a drop in stock prices.

The Coppell Independent School District saw its rating fall from

" recognized " to " acceptable, " and individual school ratings dropped

at nine of 14 campuses. Two schools tumbled two notches: Coppell High

from " recognized " to " unacceptable, " and Coppell Middle North from

" exemplary " to " acceptable. "

Coppell ISD officials struck back Tuesday with a news release and

statement on the district's home page: " The recently released [state]

ratings do not accurately reflect the quality of education in the

Coppell Independent School District. " Officials, who said they plan

to appeal the ratings for the district and three campuses, said they

were hurt by Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores from a

small group of students – those with disabilities.

The state factored in TAKS scores for students with disabilities for

the first time this year.

Experts say the ratings frenzy is understandable, if not always

sensible.

" Ultimately, what drives it is parents and educators want good

schools, " said Sayler, an associate dean at the University of

North Texas' college of education. State ratings offer an overview of

how well schools are doing, he said.

Badge of honor

Schools and districts wear high ratings like badges of honor. They

trumpet their " exemplary " or " recognized " status on banners, at

community meetings, and on letterheads and Web sites. Meanwhile,

districts rated unacceptable for two consecutive years face

sanctions, including the possibility of a forced merger with another

district. Wilmer-Hutchins is the only district in that situation.

Still, the labels hide nuances. A school might have had an influx of

immigrant students, posing new challenges for teachers. Scores might

have increased on the TAKS, but not enough to earn a higher rating.

Plus, ratings often say just as much about the children attending the

school as the job teachers are doing: Schools that serve poor

children, for several reasons, tend to perform worse than their

wealthier counterparts.

Case in point: The most affluent schools (where no more than one in

five children are poor) represent just 12 percent of all schools in

Texas, but they make up 60 percent of campuses rated " exemplary " this

year.

Complicating matters, the state made it harder to pass the TAKS this

year, making students answer more questions correctly.

lyn , who has two children at Coppell High, said she knew

the ratings would be calculated differently this year but had no idea

how much it would affect the district.

" Was it a surprise? You bet, " Ms. said. But that doesn't put

her children's education at risk, she said. She expressed full

confidence in the district.

" This rating does not change that, " she said.

In Grapevine, parent Kathy Candaleria said she thinks the lower

rating given this year to the Grapevine-Colleyville district –

" acceptable " instead of " recognized " – may hurt its perception among

some people. But Ms. Candaleria said she doesn't put that much stock

in the ratings, which depend mostly on test scores.

" I don't believe in all this testing, " Ms. Candaleria said.

Property values

Jim Fite, president of Century 21 Judge Fite Realtors, said

homebuyers study school reports and ratings. Some will gravitate

toward districts with higher marks from the state, he said.

Poor ratings could hurt the real estate market in some districts, Mr.

Fite said.

At Ebby Halliday Realtors, agent Kay Weeks advises homebuyers to

visit a school and meet the principal. Ask about extracurricular

activities, she suggests, and find out if parents are involved.

" You really can't look at these ratings as the be-all, end-all, " Ms.

Weeks said. " If there were more criteria for people to look at rather

than just what the state puts out, I think it would be a lot more

helpful. "

Staff writers Marissa Alanis, Herb Booth, Kim Breen and Stella Chavez

contributed to this report.