TEA rates 64 Tarrant County schools “Exemplary,” 15 “Academically Unacceptable”

by Erin Rice

Of the 479 schools in Tarrant County, 64 were rated as "Exemplary" by the Texas Education Administration, which is the highest mark a school could receive in the 2008 Academic Accountability ratings. 15 schools received the lowest rating of "Academically Unacceptable." Of those 15 schools, 10 are in Fort Worth ISD and three belong to Arlington ISD.

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In Carroll ISD, if you don't do well, they sic rabid, biting cheerleaders on you.

Carroll ISD was the only major* district receiving Exemplary marks, with all but one school in the district also regarded as exemplary (Old Union Elementary was not rated due to "data integrity issues.") Three other major districts received the second highest rating of "Recognized": Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, Keller ISD, and Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, where citizens burn crosses as acts against racism.

Fort Worth ISD and Arlington ISD, both of which were marked on the whole as "Academically Acceptable," are the two largest school districts in Tarrant County, with 144 and 76 schools respectively. FWISD contains two Exemplary schools and 32 Recognized schools. Arlington ISD contains three Exemplary schools and 15 Recognized schools.

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: