Posted 2:04 am Thursday, December 09, 2010
TISD Gets Unfavorable State Review In Academic Performance
Canton ISD, Jacksonville ISD Receive 5-Star Ratings
By EMILY GUEVARA
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Tyler ISD received an unfavorable review in a Texas Comptroller's Office report about how well school districts perform academically relative to money spent.
Two other East Texas districts - Canton ISD and Jacksonville ISD - were among only 43 districts and charter schools statewide to receive a five-star rating.
Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Randy Reid said he was not surprised by the district's two-star rating, though it is not where the district wants to be.
"When your performance is below average districtwide, I would have been surprised if they would have said we're five star," Reid said by phone Wednesday.
Canton ISD Superintendent Larry Davis said he also wasn't surprised by his district's strong rating.
"I felt like we were fiscally responsible, and I knew academically we did well," he said. "To be in this category is an honor. I feel like over many years of diligence, we have been able to perform at the level we have with the parameters of being fiscally responsible."
Jacksonville ISD Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell said the report shows that the district has set a focus on academic achievement for students and is making sure it's geared toward that.
"I think the district is doing so many things right," he said. "There is no question about our academic achievement. Campuses consistently do a great job."
The report and a companion website released Wednesday provide a one-of-kind analysis of public education spending and academic results in Texas, according to a statement from the Comptroller's office.
The study was completed at the request of the 2009 Legislature, which directed the Comptroller's office to come up with a way to compare school districts on a level playing field.
Furthermore, legislators wanted the office to determine which districts and campuses allocate financial resources in a way that contributes to strong academic performance and cost-effective operations, the statement reads.
"We all want students to excel academically, and it takes a certain amount of spending to realize that goal, but what is the right amount?" Comptroller Susan Combs said in the prepared statement. "We need to fully understand the relationship between student progress and spending."
Public school spending has increased by 95 percentage points in the past decade, five times the increase of student enrollment in that same time period, according to the report.
Spending per student rose 63 percent, exceeding both enrollment growth and inflation.
Tyler ISD spends more than $8,000 per student, which is considered high, according to the districts it's compared to in the study.
However, other local districts that are smaller, such as Arp ISD spent more than $10,000 per student.
Canton ISD and Jacksonville, the two area districts rated the highest, spent more than $8,000 per student, considered "very low" in their comparison groups.
The report assigns each school district, campus and charter school three ratings. One addresses student progress in reading and math. Another addresses spending. And another, the star rating, addresses academic progress in light of spending.
Tyler ISD faired low to moderate in its academic performance, placing it near the 550th percentile of Texas school districts in terms of districtwide reading progress.
It placed in the 26th percentile in math progress.
TISD Board President Ron Vickery said the district continues to improve in math and science, which traditionally have been weak areas.
"I think we have made a lot of changes independently and are moving in that direction to improve those two areas," he said.
Canton ISD, with an enrollment of almost 2,000 students, performed in the 85th percentile in reading progress and the 90th percentile in math progress.
Jacksonville ISD, with an enrollment of about 4,800 students, placed in the 78th percentile of school districts in reading progress and the 84th percentile in math progress.
Reid said he and other district officials certainly will analyze the data further in the coming weeks and months.
He said he had some questions about how the office decided which districts TISD would be compared too.
Furthermore, he said, people need to be careful how they use the data.
"We welcome data," he said. "We welcome comparison. And we certainly welcome accountability, but we also need time to absorb, time to review."
Reid said the value of the study lies in its ability to show districts best practices from around the state, but people also have to remember that different districts have access to different resources.
"It's easy to get frustrated that you don't score as well as somebody else on this particular instrument," he said. "But that's not what we're going to do. We're really going to take a look at this and see if there are things in there that are going to help."
Vickery said the report comes at a good time when school districts are going to be analyzing programs and expenditures as they prepared for probable cuts next year.
"I view this as one more valuable set of information that can help us improve and spend the taxpayer dollars as wisely as possible," he said.
Staff Writers Melissa Crowe and Kelly Gooch contributed to this report.
