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HISD’s Strong Progress on TAKS Scores Continues

HISD students continued to push the envelope on the TAKS test this year. Nearly 96 percent of HISD schools showed improvement in one or more subject areas, 75 percent of the district’s schools improved in passing rates in math and social studies, nearly 73 percent of schools improved their reading scores, and 66 percent improved their scores in science and writing.

In addition to higher scores and more students passing the TAKS test, there were significant increases in the number of HISD students performing at the “Commended” level, which  indicates exceptional performance on the test. A few examples of student successes on the English TAKS tests are:

• 41 percent of third- and eighth-graders were commended in reading
• 44 percent of fifth-graders were commended in math
• 41 percent of fifth-graders were commended in science

As test scores rose, achievement gaps closed even further between white and minority students at nearly every grade level across all subject areas: reading, English language arts, math, science, social studies, and writing. Here's a grade-by-grade example showing the closing of the gap in math from 2006 to 2009.

HISD English TAKS Mathematics Percent Passing at State Standard Gap Analysis by Ethnicity for All Students: Spring 2006–2009

TAKS scores, along with drop-out rates for middle schools and completion rates for high schools, are used by the state to calculate the accountability rating for each school. Last year, HISD had a record 157 schools rated Exemplary or Recognized, which amounts to 58 percent of the district’s schools.

In an e-mail message to employees, HISD Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra said, “This was a very difficult year disrupted by a hurricane, flooding, and the flu. But despite these major distractions and the loss of instructional days they caused, HISD stayed strongly focused on teaching and learning. Thanks to the hard work on the part of every member of the HISD family, our students stayed on track and performed extremely well on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. The spring 2009 TAKS results show improvement in virtually every grade, subject, and category. These outstanding statistics indicate academic growth that everyone in HISD should be proud of. They show that HISD can achieve the mission of increasing student achievement even in the face of illnesses and natural disasters. All employees play a key role in helping our teachers and students perform at these levels, and I want to congratulate everyone for their commitment and dedication, and for another successful school year.”

HISD’s Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Karen Garza, said, “With the continued growth in TAKS scores this year, I believe HISD will set a new record for Exemplary and Recognized schools. We won’t know for sure until the state releases accountability ratings in August, but it would not surprise me if the number of HISD schools with the state’s top two ratings of Exemplary and Recognized grows from 58 percent to more than 70 percent this year.” 

Under the leadership of Dr. Saavedra and Dr. Garza, HISD implemented the ASPIRE Award performance-pay program in 2005. ASPIRE (which stands for Accelerating Student Progress. Increasing Results & Expectations) gave teachers the technology they needed to track student growth and intervene early on with struggling students. ASPIRE has paid big dividends in increasing student achievement and big bonuses to teachers whose students have shown the most growth. This year, the ASPIRE Awards program paid out a record-breaking $31,407,858.61 to 15,703 HISD campus-based staff. In total, 8,747 core instructional staff, 2,505 non-core instructional staff, 2,189 instructional support staff and teaching assistants, and 1,671 operational support staff members received awards. The top bonus for a core teacher was $8,580, and the average bonus was $2,777.

The success of the ASPIRE program serves as a proud legacy for Dr. Saavedra and Dr. Garza as they both leave HISD. Dr. Karen Garza will take over as superintendent of schools in Lubbock on July 1, and Dr. Abelardo Saavedra announced his intention earlier this year to retire from the district when his replacement is found.