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Accountability not a true measure of a worth
Staff Report
Published August 7, 2009
For the most part, area school districts earned outstanding marks from the Texas Education Agency in 2009 accountability ratings. We especially commend teachers for the hard work necessary for students to score well on standardized tests, which continue to become more difficult as state and federal expectations increase each year.
We commend both North Lamar and Rivercrest districts for Recognized ratings and salute all other districts in the area for their scores as well.
North Lamar Independent School District superintendent James Dawson is correct when he said in an interview this past week, “You have to give credit to teachers, administrators, curriculum people and all the paraprofessionals. And, of course, you can’t leave out parents and students. It’s a combined effort.”
Many individual campuses received the highest ratings possible. These include the Exemplary ratings at North Lamar’s Higgins Elementary, Parker Elementary, Cecil Everett Elementary and Bailey Intermediate along with the Recognized rank at both North Lamar High School and Frank Stone Middle School. All three Rivercrest campuses scored Recognized.
At Chisum, the elementary school ranked Exemplary and the middle school Recognized. Roxton Elementary was in the Recognized category as was Blossom Elementary in the Prairiland district. Prairiland’s campus at Deport and the junior high were ranked Exemplary. Cooper’s elementary received Exemplary and the high school was Recognized. Detroit Elementary received a Recognized rating as did Honey Grove Middle School and Honey Grove Elementary. Fannindel Elementary received an Exemplary score.
Red River Valley schools indeed have something to brag about. However, we question the amount of emphasis placed on test scores and accountability ratings, which are no doubt used by the public to compare the performance of one school district with another. It’s similar to comparing apples to oranges. There are far too many unknowns for this yearly accountability rating to be a true picture of a district’s ability to educate a wide range of students with different abilities. The accountability rating is based on the percentage of students who pass tests and does not take into consideration the percentage of students who score exceptionally high.
As we commend districts with high accountability ratings we also caution the public to realize these ratings are not meant to provide comparisons. The purpose of the accountability system is to enable administrators, teachers and support staff to assess weaknesses and strengths and to adjust curriculum to meet the individual needs of all students.
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