22 May 2007
"Gains made in all subjects'; some grades experience gains while others drop"
DALLAS—More Dallas Independent School District students than ever passed the state's Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in 2007, with gains made in every subject.
The percentage of Dallas students passing the state's writing exam jumped more than 5 percent while reading scores improved more than 2 percentage points. Math scores went up 1.6 percentage points.
"At first glance, these results show that Dallas students are moving in the right direction," said Superintendent of Schools Michael Hinojosa. "There are, however, many indicators that show that there is still a long way to go before Dallas will become the top urban school district in the country."
More Dallas students in grades 4, 5, 7, 8 passed the TAKS test than last year. The percentage of students passing in 6th grade, however, dipped from last year's results.
"There are obvious signs of progress thanks to the hard work of students, teachers and school administrators," said Hinojosa. "This was a year of transition and the scores also reflect that
The district's 2002 bond program paid for 20 new schools to be opened throughout the city. The new schools created capacity to allow most Dallas 6th grade students to attend classes on middle school campuses.
The percentage of Dallas 3rd grade students who passed the TAKS test also declined by 3.2 percentage points in reading and 4.5 percentage points in mathematics.
"This is a real wake-up call," said Hinojosa. "Every educator knows that 3rd grade performance is an early indicator of a student's success. Some of the changes to be implemented by the Dallas Achieves initiative will improve student performance in the future."
Certain grade levels and subject areas posted significant gains. The percentage of 7th and 8th grade students passing the TAKS reading test jumped by roughly 10 percentage points.
"While 7th and 8th grade reading scores had historically been low, it is very encouraging to see double-digit gains," said Hinojosa. "Hats off to those teachers and students who helped raise the passing percentage."