Data Show RRISD Outperforms Peers Academically

ROUND ROCK, TX -- The most recent Texas Education Agency report on academic performance once again illustrates Round Rock ISD outperforming its area counterparts.

Data from the TEA’s Texas Academic Performance Report show the district outperforms the state and regional averages in math, reading, science, social studies and writing.

The district consistently outperforms its peers, earning the district accolades among parents and educators. District officials outlined some of the report’s highlights at their Jan. 21 board meeting.

The Austin American-Statesman newspaper focused on some of the report’s more salient points, as outlined by the board:

• In the 2014 STARR college readiness test, 88 percent of district students secured a satisfactory score or higher on the reading portion and end-of-course assessments. Last year, 89 percent of students were satisfactory or above.

• In mathematics, district students posted an improvement from 87 percent in 2014 to 91 percent. last year. By comparison, 81 percent of the state passed in math and 85 percent of the region passed in 2015.

• All told, all 49 district campuses met performance standards some even securing distinction designations.

The TEA assigns one of two ratings – “met standard” or “improvement required” – in ascertaining overall, cumulative performance of a school district.

The pair of categories are the only ones the TEA now assigns in relatively recent change that some (even those at TEA) have attributed as an effort to avoid labels that could be viewed as pejorative.

The two assessments replaced more nuanced categorizations ranging from “exemplary” to “academically unacceptable” that were long used as part of the agency’s methodology toward assigning categories.

Despite RRISD’s overall academic success, some of its minority-prevalent campuses consistently lag behind academically from their Anglo counterparts. And its college-bound minority students don’t do as well on tests at their white peers.

Scores among district African-American and Hispanic students in the ACT--a key test measuring college readiness--were lower than those of their Caucasian counterparts. The latest report provides that data for the Class of 2014, its latest available figures.

While the average ACT score among district students in English Language Arts was 23.5--higher than the state average of 20 and the region 21.7 average, further breakdowns illustrate cultural discrepancies.

For the same graduating class, the average African American student score was 18.8, among Hispanics 20.1 and for white students 24.5.

It was much the same in math, where the overall district’s 24.4 bested the state and region averages of 21.2 and 22.7, respectively. The district as a whole also bested broader averages in science: A 24.0 average test score compared to 20.7 statewide and 22.2 regionally.

Again, crunching the numbers further, minority students lag. In math, the average scores were: African American, 19.6; Hispanic, 21.2 and white, 24.9. Same basic story in science: African American students posting an average 19.5 score, Hispanics 21.2 and whites 24.8

District officials have addressed that cultural divide in the past. In the district’s 2013-14 Campus Improvement Plan, the report found evidence to support evidence of a skewed teacher-student racial or ethnic ratio Hernandez Middle School where half the student body is Hispanic and the other half about evenly divided between African American and white students.

“This ethnic diversity is a strength of our campus,” the report reads. “However, teachers are often challenged to have a culturally responsive classroom and to utilize strategies that engage students of color. Although the demographics of Hernandez Middle school mirror those of Central Texas at large, they are an anomaly for Round Rock ISD.”

District officials acknowledged the nature of the ongoing cultural challenge: ”As the district allocates resources and compares achievement results, this difference creates challenges for staff, parents and students.”

The issue of academic readiness for the district’s African-American students gained more direct focus when attorney Tony A. Pitts entered the race for the Place 6 board of trustees seat.

Although ultimately an unsuccessful bid for office, Pitts’ race refocused attention on the dual needs of improving test scores and the overall education of the district’s African American students.

It was the sole issue of his platform.

Parents can view the entire report here.