May 29, 2009 e-nlightened: Continued Improvement on TAKS Tests

May 29, 2009

The Communications Department produces the employee newsletter "e-nlightened" each week so that staff can keep in touch with what is going on across the district. E-mail your pictures and a brief description to Communications and we will include them as space permits.

BISD Students Show Continued Improvement on TAKS Tests

The Texas Education Agency released preliminary TAKS scores on Friday for students who took the spring 2009 TAKS tests. BISD students' overall performance continues to show improvement over previous years. Across the district, the largest gain was in science, where all grade levels tested had increases except for 10th grade. Science is tested in fifth, eighth, 10th and 11th grades. In addition, 18 of 22 areas remained the same or increased over 2008 scores.

BISD also saw increases in the number of "Commended Scholars" recognized by the Texas Education Agency. Commended performance represents academic achievement at a level that is considerably higher than the state passing standard. In BISD, there were gains in reading/ELA, math, science, social studies and writing. The largest were 11th-grade reading/ELA and 11th-grade social studies with an 11 and 10 percent increase, respectively. In addition, 50 percent of fifth-grade students received this prestigious honor for their science scores.

"The performance of BISD students on state-mandated tests continues to improve even with the state and federal government raising the standards," Superintendent Stephen F. Waddell said. "It is exciting to see how well our students consistently advance on this rigorous test. I am proud of the students, teachers, parents and staff."

The final results and ratings will be released by the Texas Education Agency in August.