_Chapter 2 - The Basics: Base Indicators_ |
To determine ratings under the standard accountability procedures, the 2005 accountability rating system for Texas public schools and districts uses four base indicators:
- spring 2005 performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS),
- spring 2005 performance on the State-Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA II),
- the Completion Rate II for the class of 2004, and
- the 2003-04 Annual Dropout Rate for grades 7 and 8.
The TAKS indicator is the percent of students who scored high enough to meet the standard to pass the test. This is calculated as the number of students who met the TAKS student passing standard divided by the number tested. Results for the English version of the TAKS (grades 3-11) and the Spanish version (grades 3-6) are summed across grades for each subject. Results for each subject tested are evaluated separately to determine ratings.
Who is evaluated for TAKS: Districts and campuses that test students on any TAKS subject:
- Reading/ELA - Reading is tested in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9; English language arts (ELA) is tested in grades 10 & 11. Note that this is a combined indicator. It includes all students tested on and passing either the TAKS reading test or the TAKS English language arts test. The first two administrations of grade 3 and grade 5 TAKS reading results are included. See Reading/ELA Combined and Student Success Initiative in Other Information below.
- Writing - Writing is tested in grades 4 & 7.
- Social Studies - Social Studies is tested in grades 8, 10, & 11.
- Mathematics - Mathematics is tested in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11. The first two administrations of grade 5 TAKS mathematics results are included. See Student Success Initiative in Other Information below.
- Science - Science is tested in grades 5, 10, & 11.
Standard: The Academically Acceptable standard varies by subject, while the Recognized and Exemplary standards are the same for all subjects:
- Exemplary - At least 90% of students tested passing for every subject.
- Recognized - At least 70% of students tested passing for every subject.
- Academically Acceptable - Varies by subject:
- Reading/ELA - At least 50% of students tested passing.
- Writing - At least 50% of students tested passing.
- Social Studies - At least 50% of students tested passing.
- Mathematics - At least 35% of students tested passing.
- Science - At least 25% of students tested passing.
Student Groups: Performance is evaluated for All Students and the following student groups: African American, Hispanic, White, and Economically Disadvantaged.
Methodology:
| number of students tested in [TAKS subject] |
Minimum Size Requirements:
- All Students. These results are always evaluated, regardless of the number of examinees. However, districts and campuses with a small number of total students tested on TAKS will receive Special Analysis. See Chapter 6 - Special Issues and Circumstances for more detailed information about Special Analysis.
- Student Groups.
- Any student group with fewer than 30 students tested is not evaluated.
- If there are 30 to 49 students within the student group and the student group comprises at least 10% of All Students, it is evaluated.
- If there are at least 50 students within the student group, it is evaluated.
- Student group size is calculated subject by subject. For this reason the number of student groups evaluated will sometimes vary. For example, an elementary school with grades 3, 4, & 5 tested may have enough Hispanic students to be evaluated on reading and mathematics, but not enough to be evaluated on writing (tested in grade 4 only) or science (tested in grade 5 only).
Year of Data: 2005 (Spring TAKS Administration)
Data Source: Pearson Educational Measurement
Other Information:
- Student Success Initiative. For grade 3 and 5 reading and grade 5 mathematics performance, a cumulative percent passing is calculated by combining the first and second administrations of the TAKS. The results include performance on the Spanish versions of these tests.
- Special Education. Performance of special education students who take the TAKS is included in the TAKS indicator.
- Testing Window. Results for students given a make-up test within the testing window are included in the accountability indicators.
- Reading/ELA Combined. Reading (grades 3-9) and ELA (grades 10-11) results are combined and evaluated as a single subject. This only affects districts and those campuses that offer both grade 9 and grades 10 and/or 11. For these, counts of reading and ELA students who met the standard are summed and divided by the total number taking reading or ELA.
- TAKS Spanish. The TAKS tests are given in Spanish in reading and mathematics for grades 3, 4, 5, and 6; writing in grade 4; and science in grade 5. Performance on these tests is combined with performance on the English-language TAKS for the same subject to determine a rating.
- Student Passing Standards. To determine whether the student counts as a passer, the student must meet the passing standard adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) for the current year. For 2005, the student passing standard is the panel recommendation (PR) for students in grades 3-10 and 1 SEM below PR for students in grade 11. (Some 11th graders will have a passing standard other than 1 SEM, depending on what standard was in place when they first entered 10th grade.) The table below shows the grades and subjects assessed and the applicable student passing standard.
| Subjects | Grades | 2005 Student Passing Standard |
Reading |
3 - 9 10 11 |
Panel Recommendation Panel Recommendation 1 SEM below PR |
| Writing | 4, 7 | Panel Recommendation |
| Mathematics | 3 - 10 |
Panel Recommendation 1 SEM below PR |
| Social Studies | 8, 10 11 |
Panel Recommendation 1 SEM below PR |
| Science | 5, 10 11 |
Panel Recommendation 1 SEM below PR |
- Explanation of Panel Recommendation. In November of 2002, the State Board of Education adopted two performance standards for the TAKS: Met Standard (i.e. passing) which was set at a scale score of 2100, and Commended Performance (i.e. high performance) which was set at a scale score of 2400. Because the new TAKS was much more challenging than its predecessor, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), the Board adopted a transition plan to phase in Met Standard over several years.
The transition plan has used the standard error of measurement (SEM) to phase in the panel's recommended passing standards over the past three years. For 2003, the standard was set at 2 SEM below PR. For 2004, for grades 3 through 10, the passing standard was set at 1 SEM below PR. As noted in the table above, the passing standards for 2005 for grades 3 through 10 are set at Panel Recommendation. This standard, a scale score of 2100, will be the standard from this year forward.
Note that there is a one-year delayed phase-in for the grade 11, exit-level TAKS. The TAKS Met Standard for the exit-level exam in 2005 is 1 SEM below PR; in 2006 the standard will move to Panel Recommendation.- Sum of All Grades Tested. Results for each subject are summed across grades. This refers to the grades tested at the particular campus or district. For example, the percent passing for TAKS reading in an elementary school with a grade span of K-5 is calculated as:
| number of students who took the reading test in grades 3, 4, & 5 |
- Grade 11 Results. The results used in the accountability system for students assessed in grade 11 are from the primary administration of 11th graders that occurred in April 2005 (the April 20 - 22 test dates, including the ELA results from February 22). Results for all 11th graders tested at that administration will be used, including students repeating the 11th grade, as well as other retesting grade 11 students (i.e. 11th graders assessed in October 2004 and / or February 2005 who are tested again in April). Students who were only assessed in October 2004 will not be included in the grade 11 accountability results. Similarly, grade 11 students who were only assessed in February will not be included in the grade 11 accountability results. For students who are retesting during the primary April administration, only the scored subjects are used-passing scores from previous administrations are not included. Grade 11 results are not cumulative.
- Students Tested. Only those answer documents marked "Score" are included; answer documents coded "Absent," "Exempt," or "Other" are excluded. For example, results for limited English proficient students taking a linguistically accommodated TAKS or SDAA II mathematics test are not included in the state accountability system.
- Rounding of Met Standard Percent. The Met Standard calculations are expressed as a percent, rounded to whole numbers. For example, 49.877% is rounded to 50%; 79.4999% is rounded to 79%; and 89.5% is rounded to 90%.
- Rounding of Student Group Percent. The Student Group calculations are expressed as a percent, rounded to whole numbers. For example, 9.5% is rounded to 10%.
This test assesses special education students in grades 3-10 who are receiving instruction in the state's curriculum but for whom the TAKS test is not an appropriate measure of their academic progress. Tests are given in the areas of reading/ELA, writing, and mathematics, on the same schedule as TAKS.
New for 2005, the State-Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA II) assesses more of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) than the previous SDAA and asks questions in more authentic ways.
Two other changes particularly important with regard to accountability ratings are:
- SDAA II has expanded the number of grades tested and now includes reading and mathematics in grade 9 and English languages arts and mathematics in grade 10.
- SDAA II no longer requires student performance to be 'baselined' in a prior year. For those students with no prior testing information, their Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee will set an improvement expectation within the school year. This means that the performance of third graders and other students taking the SDAA II for the first time will be included in determining accountability ratings.
A single performance indicator is evaluated for SDAA II. The indicator sums across grades (3-10) and across subjects. This indicator is not based on the number of students tested but on the number of tests taken. It is calculated as the number of tests meeting ARD committee expectations divided by the number of SDAA II tests for which ARD expectations were established. Students who take multiple SDAA II tests are included multiple times (for each and every SDAA II test they take).
Who is evaluated for SDAA II: Districts and campuses that test students on any SDAA II subject.
Standard:
- Exemplary - Results on at least 90% of tests taken meet ARD expectations.
- Recognized - Results on at least 70% of tests taken meet ARD expectations.
- Academically Acceptable - Results on at least 50% of tests taken meet ARD expectations.
Student Groups: Performance for the percent Meeting ARD Expectations is evaluated for All Students only. Student group performance is not evaluated separately.
Methodology:
| number of SDAA II tests taken |
Minimum Size Requirements:
- SDAA II performance is evaluated for districts and campuses with results from 30 or more tests (summed across grades and subjects). Depending on grade level, an individual student might be counted as many as 3 times if he or she takes all three SDAA II tests - reading, writing, and mathematics. In this case, the minimum size requirement of 30 tests could represent as few as 10 students.
- There is no Special Analysis done on SDAA II performance.
- Student groups are not evaluated separately.
Year of Data: 2005 (Spring SDAA II Administration)
Data Source: Pearson Educational Measurement
Other Information:
- Baseline Results. Unlike the SDAA, the SDAA II allows for ARD expectations to be set for students taking the SDAA II test for the first time. Since prior year baseline results are not needed, a student's performance no longer needs to be matched across two years. For 2005 accountability, the performance of grade 3 students and all other students taking the SDAA II for the first time will be included in determining a campus's accountability rating.
- Student Success Initiative. No cumulative performance is available for SDAA II in grades 3 and 5.
- Students Tested on both SDAA II and TAKS. In some cases, students may take both the SDAA II and TAKS. For example, a grade 6 student may take the TAKS for mathematics, but the SDAA II for reading. In that case, the student's TAKS performance is included with the TAKS indicators and the SDAA II performance is included with the SDAA II indicator.
- Rounding of Met ARD Expectation Percent. The Met ARD Expectation calculations are expressed as a percent, rounded to whole numbers. For example, 49.877% is rounded to 50%; 79.4999% is rounded to 79%; and 89.5% is rounded to 90%.
For the TAKS and SDAA II indicators, only the performance of students enrolled on the PEIMS fall "as-of" date of October 29, 2004, are considered in the ratings. This is referred to as the accountability subset (sometimes also referred to as the October subset or the mobility adjustment). This adjustment is not applied to any other base indicator.
Students who move from district to district are excluded from the campus and district's TAKS and SDAA II results. Further, students who move from campus to campus within a district are kept in the district's results but are excluded from the campus's TAKS and SDAA II results. No campus is held accountable for students who move between campuses after the PEIMS as-of date and before the date of testing, even if they stay within the same district. The subsets are determined as follows:
Campus-level accountability subset: If a student is reported in membership at one campus on October 29, 2004, but moves to another campus before the TAKS or SDAA II test, that student's performance is removed from the accountability results for both campuses, whether the campuses are in the same district or different districts. Campuses are held accountable only for those students reported to be enrolled in the campus in the fall and tested in the same campus in the second semester.
District-level accountability subset: If a student was in one district on October 29, 2004, but moved to another district before the TAKS or SDAA II test, that student's performance is taken out of the accountability subset for both districts. However, if the student moved from campus to campus within the district, his or her performance is included in that district's results, even though it does not count for either campus. This means that district performance results do not match the sum of the campus performance results.
Examples of how the accountability subset criteria are applied are provided below. Note that these apply to both SDAA II and TAKS performance results.
| Student Situation | In Whose Accountability Subset? |
| General | |
| 1. Grade 9 student is enrolled at campus A in the fall and tests there on TAKS reading in February and mathematics in April. | This student's results affect the rating of both campus A and the district. |
| 2. Grade 6 student is enrolled in district A in the fall and moves to district B at the semester break. The student is tested on TAKS reading and mathematics in April. | This student's results do not affect the rating of any campus or district. Results are reported to district B. |
| 3. Grade 6 student is enrolled at campus Y (district A) in the fall and then moves to campus Z (district A) at the semester break. The student is tested on TAKS reading and mathematics in April. | This student's results do not affect the rating of campus Y or Z, but they do affect district A. Results for both tests are reported to campus Z. |
| 4. Grade 6 student is reported in enrollment in district A at campus Z, but is withdrawn for home schooling on November 10th. Parents re-enroll the student at the same campus on April 1. The student is tested in TAKS reading and mathematics in April. | Performance on both tests is reported and included in the ratings evaluation for campus Z and district A. The fact that the student was enrolled on the "as of" date and tested in the same campus and district are the criteria for determining the accountability subset. |
| Mobility between Writing and other tests | |
| 5. Grade 4 student enrolls in campus A in the fall and takes the TAKS writing test there in February. The student then transfers to campus B in the same district and tests on TAKS reading and mathematics in April. | This student's results do not affect the rating of campus A or B. Although writing was assessed at the same campus where the student was enrolled in the fall, the writing results are attributed to the campus where the student tested last. The results affect the district rating. Results for all tests are reported to campus B. |
| 6. Grade 4 student enrolls in campus A in the fall and takes the writing TAKS there in February. The student then transfers to campus B in a different district and tests on TAKS reading and mathematics in April. | This student's results do not affect the rating of either campus or district. Test results are attributed to the campus where the student tested last. Results for all tests are reported to campus B. |
| 7. Grade 7 student is reported in enrollment in district A and takes the writing test in that district at campus Y. In March, the student transfers to district B and takes the remaining Grade 7 TAKS tests there. The answer documents submitted by district B use different name spellings than did the one submitted by district A. | To the test contractor these are two different students, not the same one. Performance on the student's writing test is reported to district A and counts toward its rating and the rating of campus Y. The student's results in reading and mathematics are reported to district B but do not contribute to the rating of either the district or the campus where the student tested because the student was not there in the fall. |
| 8. Grade 7 student is reported in enrollment in district A and takes the writing test in that district at campus Z. In March, the student moves out of state. | Performance on the student's writing test counts toward the rating of district A and the rating of campus Z. |
| Grades 3 and 5 Reading; Grade 5 Mathematics (Student Success Initiative) | |
| 9. Grade 3 student takes reading in February at campus A where she was enrolled in the fall, passes the test and moves to campus B (in the same district) where, in April, she takes and fails the mathematics test. | This student's results do not affect the rating of campus A or B. The reading results from the February test are reported to campus A and the math results are reported to campus B. Results from both tests affect the district. |
| 10. Grade 5 student takes reading on February 23rd at campus A where he was enrolled in the fall, and fails the test. In March he moves to campus B (in the same district) where he retests in April and passes reading, mathematics, and science. | This student's results do not affect the rating of campus A or B. The February reading results are reported to campus A, even though math, science and the 2nd reading results are reported to campus B. Results from reading, science, and mathematics tests affect the district. |
| 11. Grade 3 student enrolls in campus A in the fall, but then moves to campus B (in the same district) in December. On February 23rd the student takes the reading test there, and passes. In early April the student moves back to campus A, where he takes and passes the mathematics test. | This student's reading results do not affect the rating of campus A or B, but the math results affect the rating of campus A. The reading results from the February test are reported to campus B, and the math results are reported to campus A. Results from both reading and mathematics tests affect the district. |
| 12. Grade 3 student takes TAKS reading in February at the campus where she was enrolled in the fall. She fails the test. In March, the student and her family move out of state. She does not take TAKS math. | This student's TAKS reading results do not affect the rating for the campus or district. |
| 13. Grade 5 student takes TAKS reading in February at the campus where she was enrolled in the fall, and passes the test. On April 5th she takes the TAKS math test but fails. The following week, the student and her family move to another district, where she takes TAKS science and retests in math and fails again. | This student's TAKS reading, mathematics, and science results do not affect the rating for any campus or district. |
| 14. Grade 5 student takes TAKS reading in February at the campus where she was enrolled in the fall, and passes the test. On April 5th she takes the TAKS math test but fails. The following week, the student and her family move out of state. She does not take TAKS science or retest in math. | The three subjects are handled differently: Science: She did not test in science at all, so there are no results to attribute. Reading: She did not need to retest in reading; however, the fact that she did not take the science test in mid-April establishes her as mobile, so her reading results are taken out of the accountability subset. Mathematics: There are no results available for her in May, nor are there answer documents for any of the mathematics passers, as there is no other TAKS test given at that time. For this reason, the April performance on math is retained and will affect the rating of this campus and district. |
| Spanish TAKS | |
| 15. A grade 6 student's LPAC committee directs that she be tested in reading on the Spanish TAKS and in mathematics on the English TAKS. She remains at the same campus the entire year. | Performance on both tests is reported and included in the rating evaluation for the campus and district. Results on both English and Spanish versions of the TAKS contribute to the overall passing rate. |
| Both SDAA II and TAKS | |
| 16. The ARD committee for a grade 6 student in special education directs that she be tested in reading on the SDAA II and in mathematics on the TAKS. She remains at the same campus the entire year. | Performance on both tests is reported and included in the rating evaluation for the campus and district. This student's reading results are included with the SDAA II performance, and the mathematics results contribute to the TAKS results. |
| 17. Grade 3 student takes TAKS reading in February and fails the test. Her ARD committee decides that she should take the SDAA II reading in April, on which she meets ARD expectations. She also takes the TAKS mathematics test and passes. She remains at the same campus the entire year. | This student's TAKS reading (failure) and mathematics (passing) results will affect the TAKS performance for the campus and the district. The SDAA II reading results (passing) will affect the SDAA II indicator for the campus and district. |
This longitudinal rate shows the percent of students who first attended ninth grade in the 2000-01 school year who completed or who are continuing their education four years later. Known as the 2000-01 cohort, these students' progress was tracked over the four years using data provided to TEA by districts.
To count as a "completer" for the state accountability indicator, the student must have either: 1) graduated with the class of 2004 (or earlier), 2) attained a General Educational Development (GED) certificate by March 1, 2005, or 3) re-enrolled at the school in the fall of 2004.
Who is evaluated for Completion Rate II:
- Districts and campuses that serve grades 9, 10, 11, and/or 12.
- Use of District Rate. Completion rate is evaluated for any campus that served students in grades 9, 10, 11, and/or 12 in the fall of the 2004-05 school year. However, a completion rate is calculated only for campuses or districts that offered grades 9 through 12 since 2000-01. Campuses that serve only some of those grades-for example, a senior high school that only serves grades 11 and 12-are attributed the district's completion rate because they do not have their own. Campuses that have been in existence for fewer than five years will also be evaluated using their district's completion rate.
Standard:
- Exemplary - At least 95.0% Completion Rate II.
- Recognized - At least 85.0% Completion Rate II.
- Academically Acceptable - At least 75.0% Completion Rate II.
Student Groups: Performance is evaluated for All Students and the following student groups: African American, Hispanic, White, and Economically Disadvantaged.
Methodology:
| number in class |
Minimum Size Requirements:
- All Students. These results are evaluated if:
- there are at least 10 students in the class and
- there are at least 5 dropouts (non-completers).
- Student Groups. These results are evaluated if there are at least 5 dropouts (non-completers) within the student group and:
- there are 30 to 49 students within the student group and the student group comprises at least 10% of All Students; or
- there are at least 50 students within the student group.
Years of Data: GED records 2000-05, continued enrollment in 2004-05, graduating class of 2004, grade 11 of 2002-03, grade 10 of 2001-02, grade 9 of 2000-01. (Results are based on the original cohort, whether the students remain on grade level or not.)
Data Source: PEIMS submission 1 enrollment data, 2000-01 through 2004-05; PEIMS submission 1 leaver data, 2001-02 through 2004-05; PEIMS submission 3 attendance data, 2000-01 through 2003-04; and General Educational Development records as of March 1, 2005.
Other Information:
- Transfers. Any student who transfers into the cohort is added to it, and any student who transfers out of the cohort is subtracted from it.
- Rounding. All calculations are expressed as a percent, rounded to one decimal point. For example, 74.875% is rounded to 74.9%, not 75%. However, student group percents (minimum size requirements) are always rounded to whole numbers.
- Special Education. The completion status of special education students is included in this measure.
For accountability purposes, the annual dropout rate is used to evaluate campuses and districts with students in grades 7 and/or 8. As implied by the label, it is a one-year measure which calculates a rate, by summing the number of dropouts across the two grades. See Appendix D - Data Sources for a definition of a dropout.
Who is evaluated for Annual Dropout Rate: Districts and campuses that serve students in grades 7 and/or 8.
Standard:
- Exemplary - An Annual Dropout Rate of 0.2% or less.
- Recognized - An Annual Dropout Rate of 0.7% or less.
- Academically Acceptable - An Annual Dropout Rate of 1.0% or less.
Student Groups: Performance is evaluated for All Students and the following student groups: African American, Hispanic, White, and Economically Disadvantaged.
Methodology:
| number of grade 7-8 students who were in attendance at any time during the school year |
Minimum Size Requirements:
- All Students. These results are evaluated if:
- there are at least 10 students in grades 7-8 and
- there are at least 5 dropouts.
- Student Groups. These results are evaluated if there are at least 5 dropouts within the student group and:
- there are 30 to 49 students within the student group and the student group comprises at least 10% of All Students; or
- there are at least 50 students within the student group.
Year of Data: 2003-04
Data Source: PEIMS submission 1 enrollment data 2003-04 and 2004-05; PEIMS submission 1 leaver data, 2004-05; PEIMS submission 3 attendance data, 2003-04.
Other Information:
- Official Dropouts. "Official" dropouts are reported dropouts who are not excluded by TEA's automated check. See Appendix D - Data Sources for more information.
- Cumulative Attendance. A cumulative count of students is used in the denominator. This method for calculating the dropout rate neutralizes the effects of mobility by including in the denominator every student ever reported in attendance at the campus or district throughout the school year, regardless of length of stay.
- Rounding. All calculations are expressed as a percent, rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.49% is rounded to 2.5%, and 0.25% is rounded to 0.3%. However, student group percents (minimum size requirements) are always rounded to whole numbers.
- Special Education. Dropouts served in special educsation are included in this measure.
Accountability 2005 | Accountability | Performance Reporting | TEA Home