TEA grades 108 Dallas County schools as “Exemplary;” 30 “Academically Unacceptable”

by Erin Rice

The Dallas ISD more than doubled the number of schools receiving tops marks, but improved far less among the failing schools.

The Texas Education Agency released its 2008 Academic Accountability ratings on Friday, August 1. Of the 662 Dallas County schools, 108 received the state's highest rating of "Exemplary," while 30 schools in the county were rated as "Academically Unacceptable."

Lake Highlands ISD and Sunnyvale ISD consider new school uniforms after the news.

Highland Park ISD and Sunnyvale ISD were the only two districts graded as Exemplary, with all schools in those districts receiving exemplary marks, as well. Among the "Recognized" districts, the TEA's second highest rating, were Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Richardson ISD, and Coppell ISD.

Dallas County's largest school district is, of course, Dallas ISD, which contained 26 Exemplary schools, 77 Recognized, and 21 Academically Unacceptable (the rest were rated Academically Acceptable). In 2007, the district had a total of 47 schools receive one of the top two ratings, while the number of school's deemed unacceptable dropped by five from 2007 to 2008. The district as a whole was rated Academically Acceptable.

The base indicators employed by the TEA in determining academic accountability scores were performance on the Spring 2007 TAKS test, completion rates for the class of 2007, and dropout rates among 7th and 8th graders for 2006-07.

Ratings Based on TAKS performance

Exemplary – For every subject, at least 90% of the tested students pass the test.

Recognized - For every subject, at least 75% of the tested students pass the test.

Academically Acceptable – Varies by subject: