Fairfield students improved on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests this spring to a level that earned a "recognized" rating for the district and for the senior high school.

Final TAKS results and school ratings were released Friday afternoon by Texas Education Agency.

Results move Fairfield

Highest rating that can Independent School District and Fairfield high school to "recognized" status, the second highest rating given by TEA, from "academically acceptable."

Fairfield junior high school promotes to "academically acceptable" from "academically unacceptable" and the elementary school maintains its rating of "academically acceptable." be earned is "exemplary."

"We're headed in the right direction and I want to continue to capitalize on our strengths," FISD superintendent Katie Ryan says.

"What excites me the most is the validation for our teachers and students in that hard work pays off," she adds.

Texas students in grades three through 11 must take the TAKS test each spring measuring mastery of academic subjects, the subjects determined by grade level.

For example, third grade students are tested in reading and mathematics, while 11th grade students are tested in English, mathematics, science and social studies.

Overall passing percentages at FHS this year on the TAKS are 97 percent in English, 96 percent in social studies, 85 percent in mathematics and 88 percent in science.

FHS students improved on all portions of the test from last year.

The TAKS also is divided into subsets tracking students by ethnic group and the economically disadvantaged, either of which can ruin a school rating.

For example, several years ago a subset at the elementary school failed to master the test, resulting the the school and the school district being labeled "academically unacceptable" even though overall marks were good.

"What the high school did so well this year is taking care of each subgroup," Ms. Ryan says. "We don't want any disparity between these groups."

Passing percentages for FISD as a whole are: 92 percent in reading, 95 percent in writing, 96 percent in social studies, 86 percent in mathematics and 86 percent in science.

FISD students surpassed passing percentages for the state in every testing category. State averages for all students are: reading, 91 percent; writing, 93 percent; social studies, 93 percent; mathematics, 82 percent; and science, 78 percent.

TAKS results can be misleading in that performance for each grade is compared to students in that grade the year before, instead of tracking the improvement of student as they progress through grades.

Tracking student progress through the tests every year gives a better picture of if a school is doing its job, and it is the approach taken in FISD.

"We take it on ourselves to track student progress through the years so that we can provide individual instruction as needed," Ms. Ryan says.

If a student is weak in mathematics, that student receives extra instruction in the subject to improve the TAKS score.

The Fairfield eighth grade students who took the test in 2008 caused the junior high school to be rated "academically unacceptable," but as freshmen this year they showed marked improvement in their scores, especially in mathematics which rose from 72 percent passing to 84 percent passing. Their English scores improved from 92 percent to 98 percent.

Another factor weighing in the district earning "recognized" status this year is a high school completion rate of 96.3 percent, compared to just 88 percent statewide.

The number of "exemplary" school districts rose from 43 in 2008 to 117 this year. The total number of "exemplary" schools increased from 1,000 last year to 2,151 in 2009. That represents about 26 percent of the campuses in the state.

Of those rated "exemplary," 73 districts and 1,111 campuses were elevated from "recognized" to "exemplary."

The number of schools and districts that achieved a "recognized" rating also rose this year. The number of "recognized" districts and charter holders increased from 329 in 2008 to 459 today. The total number of "recognized" schools increased from 2,819 last year to 2,930 this year.

Slightly more than onethird of the state's districts and campuses earned this rating.

Of those rated "recognized," 178 districts and 1,077 campuses were boosted from an "academically acceptable" rating to "recognized."

Achievement of a "recognized" rating requires meeting a performance standard of 75 percent or higher on TAKS tests for each subject and student group, achieving an 85 percent completion rate and an annual dropout rate of two percent or less.

The movement of schools and districts into the two highest and the lowest rating categories left a declining number in the "academically acceptable" rating category. Last year, 818 districts or charter holders were rated "acceptable," compared to 561 today. Campuses rated "academically acceptable" dropped from 3,508 to 2,298.

An "acceptable" rating means the district or school has TAKS passing rates of at least 70 percent on English language arts/reading; writing and social studies TAKS exams; at least 55 percent passing rates on mathematics TAKS and at least 50 percent on the science TAKS test. They also have completion rates of at least 75 percent and annual dropout rates of two percent or lower.

Seventy-eight districts and 355 schools used TPM to earn an Acceptable rating.

Schools and districts received the state's lowest rating if they failed to meet the criteria required for an "academically acceptable" rating. This year, 87 districts were rated "academically unacceptable," compared to 32 last year. This is the highest number of "academically unacceptable" districts in the history of the Texas accountability system.

The number of Academically Unacceptable campuses was 270, up from 202 in 2008. This is the highest number of "academically unacceptable" campuses since 2006.

Forty-eight districts and 63 campuses received this rating solely because of an unacceptable completion rate. Low passing rates on the science TAKS was the only reason that nine districts and 116 campuses were rated "unacceptable." Those were the two most common reasons for poor performance ratings.

State law requires sanctions to be imposed when a district or school receives an "academically unacceptable" rating. The sanctions increase with each year of poor performance. The sanctions range from the creation of a corrective action plan to closure.