Aug. 1, 2006

More GCISD schools earn top rating; District makes gains
in targeted areas of student performance

Four additional Grapevine-Colleyville ISD campuses achieved the state’s highest rating, bringing the total number of Exemplary GCISD campuses to eight, according to a report released today by the Texas Education Agency. Students also made significant gains in commended rates. Although the District was close, it did not meet the standards needed to achieve a Recognized rating. Instead, GCISD’s overall District rating remains at Academically Acceptable.

“I am extremely proud that we had four additional campuses meet Exemplary status this year,” said Superintendent Dr. Kay Waggoner. “We are disappointed as a District that we did not reach Recognized status, but when we evaluate our scale scores and consider the significant increases in commended performance, we are pleased with the progress. We came extremely close to achieving the Recognized rating as a District and we will continue to focus on increasing student performance.”

Schools earning Exemplary ratings are Bear Creek Elementary*, Bransford Elementary, Colleyville Elementary*, Glenhope Elementary*, Grapevine Elementary, Heritage Elementary, O.C. Taylor Elementary and Colleyville Middle.*

Recognized campuses are Cannon Elementary, Dove Elementary, Silver Lake Elementary, Cross Timbers Middle, Grapevine Middle and Heritage Middle.

Colleyville Heritage High, Grapevine High and Timberline Elementary each remain as Academically Acceptable. Bridges Accelerated Learning Center also rated Academically Acceptable under the TEA’s Alternative Education Accountability procedures.

The ratings are based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills taken in April by Texas students in grades 3-11. Throughout the 2005-2006 school year, GCISD teachers, instructional leaders and administrators focused on several specific areas in an effort to increase student performance.

“We worked extremely hard over the past year targeting our commended performance, strengthening our ESL program and making an effort to raise the performance of all student groups, and we saw huge gains in those areas,” Waggoner said.

Commended rates increased in 18 of the 26 subject areas tested, with scale scores increasing steadily in most subjects and grade levels. The largest increase in commended performance is in 10th grade English/Language Arts, where rates went up 23 percent – from 8 percent last year to 31 percent in 2006. Students also increased scale scores by 77 points in this subject area.

In seventh-grade writing, commended performance increased 15 percent from 2005, and 21 percent over the past three years. Scale scores for these students also increased 95 points this year. And in third-grade reading, commended rates rose 5 percent this year, but show a 21 percent increase since 2004.

“We are making steady increases in some areas and significant gains in others, and we will continue our efforts to target specific areas with the goal of raising the performance of all students,” Waggoner said.