TAKS Test denies nearly 1 in 10 a diploma
Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 10:49 am
Class of '05 statistics show achievement gap persists for minorities
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Nearly one of every 10 high school seniors – more than 21,000 students from the Class of '05 – can't get a diploma this month because they couldn't pass some portion of the state graduation test after multiple tries, the Texas Education Agency reported Friday.
Minority failure rates were particularly alarming. Fifteen percent of black students and 14 percent of Hispanics – about one in seven – flunked one or more subject areas of the test. The failure rate for whites was 5 percent.
The results highlight the continuing gap in achievement between whites and minorities in all grade levels and how far urban schools still have to go.
The largest clusters of failure on the test are in districts such as Dallas, where about 700 seniors won't graduate.
"I don't know if it really benefits the state to have 20,000 people not graduating," said the Rev. L. Charles Stovall, a Dallas-based minister and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Texas.
"A lot of them are going to go for their GEDs, which is not the same as having a high school diploma."
And, the near future could see thousands more kids failing.
In lower grades, the state finished phasing-in new, tougher passing standards this year, and that took a huge toll among high school sophomores. Only 39 percent passed all four subject areas – English, math, science and social studies.
The passing rates were rock bottom: only 22 percent of black students, 26 percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of whites met minimum standards on all tests. Students performed poorest in science and highest in social studies.
Those same students next year will start taking the 11th-grade test – with higher passing standards than their predecessors – they must pass to graduate.
"These results are very disturbing," state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said. "These scores should increase levels of concern among students, parents and educators."
Last chance to move up
Other key results on this year's Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills showed that a large number of fifth-graders are in danger of flunking because they haven't passed the math and reading sections of the exam. Those students will get a third and final chance to earn a passing score this summer after receiving remedial instruction in June.
A smaller number of third-graders – about 7 percent of those students – are in the same boat. They'll also get another crack at the TAKS reading exam this summer to avoid being held back.
Stakes on the TAKS are highest for third- and fifth-graders, who must pass to be promoted, and for high school seniors, who must pass to get a diploma. Third- and fifth-graders fall under a state law aimed at curtailing the practice of social promotion – automatically passing students regardless of achievement.
TAKS scores also were released for other grade levels where the exam was administered this spring. In all, nearly 3 million students in grades three through 12 took the exam. All were tested in math and reading, with selected grades tested in science, social studies and writing.
The 9.3 percent failure rate on the graduation test was a record dating back to the first year Texas students had to pass a state exam to get a diploma – 1987. But the TAKS graduation test is far more difficult than any exam previously given and measures knowledge in four subject areas for the first time – English, math, science and social studies.
Pointing to the tougher test of skills this year, the state commissioner said she was "very proud" of the Class of 2005.
At the same time, she added, "As a former superintendent, I know how difficult it is for some students to learn that they will not be graduating with their class. Many of these students only need to pass one or two sections of the test to complete their requirements. I hope they will continue to try to pass this exam and become high school graduates."
Students have had five chances to pass beginning in the spring of their junior year of high school. The 21,198 who are being denied diplomas can take the test again in July.
The graduation test and the other high-stakes TAKS exams in grades three and five have not been without their critics in Texas. One of the chief complaints is that minority students have been hit hardest by the requirements.
Rep. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, filed two bills this year that would de-emphasize the TAKS test by including other criteria – such as student grades and teacher evaluations – in grade promotion and high school graduation decisions. Her legislation, which is stalled in a House committee, was supported by minority civil rights groups and other organizations.
"I am not against tests, but they should not be the sole measurement for retention, promotion and graduation in our schools," Ms. Olivo said. "Our schools are supposed to be learning centers, not testing centers."
Citing a recent study from Stanford University, the South Texas lawmaker said that states using multiple requirements for graduation tend to have both higher student test scores and higher graduation rates.
"It is a tragedy when an 18-year-old at the end of high school cannot read. But how should we correct that injustice – teach more or test more?" she asked.
Seeing barriers
Joe Campos, executive manager with the national League of United Latin American Citizens, said often there are language barriers between Hispanic children and their teachers that contribute to low scores. He said the teachers get frustrated and just move the students through the grade levels.
"How do they expect these seniors to graduate when the system has been pushing them through?" Mr. Campos said. "I think we need our administrators and teachers more accountable for the product they're producing. They're seniors now. We've lost them."
This year was the first of a three-year phase-in of passing standards on the TAKS graduation test. Seniors from the Class of '05 had to correctly answer less than half the questions to pass.
Among 11th-graders, 68 percent passed the graduation exam on their first attempt this spring.
With the exception of the graduation test, passing standards for all other TAKS exams were fully phased in this year, with students typically called on to correctly answer 60 to 70 percent of the questions in each subject area to pass.
Fifth-grade students showed the strongest performance gains from a year ago, reflecting the fact that this is the first year those children must pass the TAKS math and reading exams to be promoted to sixth grade.
Third- and fifth-grade students who cannot pass on their third and last opportunity in late June will be required to repeat the same grade unless their parents successfully appeal the retention. A student who has not passed the TAKS can only be promoted with the unanimous agreement of the principal, teacher and parents.
Staff writer Tawnell D. Hobbs contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A LOOK AT TAKS PASSING RATES FOR 2005
Statewide passing rates on the 2005 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills:
Third grade
Reading: 93% (Spanish version: 83%)
Math: 82% (Spanish version: 67%)
Fourth grade
Reading: 79% (Spanish version: 69%)
Writing: 90% (Spanish version: 87%)
Math: 81% (Spanish version: 64%)
Fifth grade
Reading: 86% (Spanish version: 78%)
Math: 79% (Spanish version: 44%)
Science: 64% (Spanish version: 23%)
Sixth grade
Reading: 85% (Spanish version: 59%)
Math: 72% (Spanish version: 44%)
Seventh grade
Reading: 81%
Math: 64%
Writing: 88%
Eighth grade
Reading: 83%
Math: 61%
Social studies: 85%
Ninth grade
Reading: 82%
Math: 56%
10th grade
English language arts: 67%
Math: 58%
Social studies: 84%
Science: 54%
Passed all tests: 39% (22% blacks, 26% Hispanics, 54% whites)
11th grade
English language arts: 88%
Math: 81%
Social studies: 94%
Science: 80%
Passed all tests*: 68% (51% blacks, 55% Hispanics, 81% whites)
* Must pass all tests to graduate, with several opportunities to try.
By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN, Texas – Nearly one of every 10 high school seniors – more than 21,000 students from the Class of '05 – can't get a diploma this month because they couldn't pass some portion of the state graduation test after multiple tries, the Texas Education Agency reported Friday.
Minority failure rates were particularly alarming. Fifteen percent of black students and 14 percent of Hispanics – about one in seven – flunked one or more subject areas of the test. The failure rate for whites was 5 percent.
The results highlight the continuing gap in achievement between whites and minorities in all grade levels and how far urban schools still have to go.
The largest clusters of failure on the test are in districts such as Dallas, where about 700 seniors won't graduate.
"I don't know if it really benefits the state to have 20,000 people not graduating," said the Rev. L. Charles Stovall, a Dallas-based minister and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Texas.
"A lot of them are going to go for their GEDs, which is not the same as having a high school diploma."
And, the near future could see thousands more kids failing.
In lower grades, the state finished phasing-in new, tougher passing standards this year, and that took a huge toll among high school sophomores. Only 39 percent passed all four subject areas – English, math, science and social studies.
The passing rates were rock bottom: only 22 percent of black students, 26 percent of Hispanics and 54 percent of whites met minimum standards on all tests. Students performed poorest in science and highest in social studies.
Those same students next year will start taking the 11th-grade test – with higher passing standards than their predecessors – they must pass to graduate.
"These results are very disturbing," state Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said. "These scores should increase levels of concern among students, parents and educators."
Last chance to move up
Other key results on this year's Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills showed that a large number of fifth-graders are in danger of flunking because they haven't passed the math and reading sections of the exam. Those students will get a third and final chance to earn a passing score this summer after receiving remedial instruction in June.
A smaller number of third-graders – about 7 percent of those students – are in the same boat. They'll also get another crack at the TAKS reading exam this summer to avoid being held back.
Stakes on the TAKS are highest for third- and fifth-graders, who must pass to be promoted, and for high school seniors, who must pass to get a diploma. Third- and fifth-graders fall under a state law aimed at curtailing the practice of social promotion – automatically passing students regardless of achievement.
TAKS scores also were released for other grade levels where the exam was administered this spring. In all, nearly 3 million students in grades three through 12 took the exam. All were tested in math and reading, with selected grades tested in science, social studies and writing.
The 9.3 percent failure rate on the graduation test was a record dating back to the first year Texas students had to pass a state exam to get a diploma – 1987. But the TAKS graduation test is far more difficult than any exam previously given and measures knowledge in four subject areas for the first time – English, math, science and social studies.
Pointing to the tougher test of skills this year, the state commissioner said she was "very proud" of the Class of 2005.
At the same time, she added, "As a former superintendent, I know how difficult it is for some students to learn that they will not be graduating with their class. Many of these students only need to pass one or two sections of the test to complete their requirements. I hope they will continue to try to pass this exam and become high school graduates."
Students have had five chances to pass beginning in the spring of their junior year of high school. The 21,198 who are being denied diplomas can take the test again in July.
The graduation test and the other high-stakes TAKS exams in grades three and five have not been without their critics in Texas. One of the chief complaints is that minority students have been hit hardest by the requirements.
Rep. Dora Olivo, D-Rosenberg, filed two bills this year that would de-emphasize the TAKS test by including other criteria – such as student grades and teacher evaluations – in grade promotion and high school graduation decisions. Her legislation, which is stalled in a House committee, was supported by minority civil rights groups and other organizations.
"I am not against tests, but they should not be the sole measurement for retention, promotion and graduation in our schools," Ms. Olivo said. "Our schools are supposed to be learning centers, not testing centers."
Citing a recent study from Stanford University, the South Texas lawmaker said that states using multiple requirements for graduation tend to have both higher student test scores and higher graduation rates.
"It is a tragedy when an 18-year-old at the end of high school cannot read. But how should we correct that injustice – teach more or test more?" she asked.
Seeing barriers
Joe Campos, executive manager with the national League of United Latin American Citizens, said often there are language barriers between Hispanic children and their teachers that contribute to low scores. He said the teachers get frustrated and just move the students through the grade levels.
"How do they expect these seniors to graduate when the system has been pushing them through?" Mr. Campos said. "I think we need our administrators and teachers more accountable for the product they're producing. They're seniors now. We've lost them."
This year was the first of a three-year phase-in of passing standards on the TAKS graduation test. Seniors from the Class of '05 had to correctly answer less than half the questions to pass.
Among 11th-graders, 68 percent passed the graduation exam on their first attempt this spring.
With the exception of the graduation test, passing standards for all other TAKS exams were fully phased in this year, with students typically called on to correctly answer 60 to 70 percent of the questions in each subject area to pass.
Fifth-grade students showed the strongest performance gains from a year ago, reflecting the fact that this is the first year those children must pass the TAKS math and reading exams to be promoted to sixth grade.
Third- and fifth-grade students who cannot pass on their third and last opportunity in late June will be required to repeat the same grade unless their parents successfully appeal the retention. A student who has not passed the TAKS can only be promoted with the unanimous agreement of the principal, teacher and parents.
Staff writer Tawnell D. Hobbs contributed to this report.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A LOOK AT TAKS PASSING RATES FOR 2005
Statewide passing rates on the 2005 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills:
Third grade
Reading: 93% (Spanish version: 83%)
Math: 82% (Spanish version: 67%)
Fourth grade
Reading: 79% (Spanish version: 69%)
Writing: 90% (Spanish version: 87%)
Math: 81% (Spanish version: 64%)
Fifth grade
Reading: 86% (Spanish version: 78%)
Math: 79% (Spanish version: 44%)
Science: 64% (Spanish version: 23%)
Sixth grade
Reading: 85% (Spanish version: 59%)
Math: 72% (Spanish version: 44%)
Seventh grade
Reading: 81%
Math: 64%
Writing: 88%
Eighth grade
Reading: 83%
Math: 61%
Social studies: 85%
Ninth grade
Reading: 82%
Math: 56%
10th grade
English language arts: 67%
Math: 58%
Social studies: 84%
Science: 54%
Passed all tests: 39% (22% blacks, 26% Hispanics, 54% whites)
11th grade
English language arts: 88%
Math: 81%
Social studies: 94%
Science: 80%
Passed all tests*: 68% (51% blacks, 55% Hispanics, 81% whites)
* Must pass all tests to graduate, with several opportunities to try.
