Schools prize top marks in rating game

State sorts districts into 4 categories, but critics point to bigger picture
 

07:17 AM CDT on Thursday, August 4, 2005

If home values are all about three words – location, location, location – then school values boil down to four:

Exemplary, recognized, acceptable, unacceptable.

Those simple labels are applied annually to Texas' public schools based on a complex formula that takes into account student scores on standardized tests, dropouts and high school graduation rates.

The ratings, which were released this week, spark passion, discussion – and sometimes obsession.

Teachers and parents celebrated in areas where schools experienced a bump up in the hierarchy. Other parents had questions after seeing their schools slide. Even real estate agents got in on the act.

"Out here it means everything," said Tom Grisak, a Realtor who works in Allen. His area includes the tiny Lovejoy Independent School District, whose two campuses earned top marks for 2005. Mr. Grisak posted the good news on his company Web site Tuesday.

"To say that both schools are exemplary, that is a huge selling factor. I can't tell you what an asset that is," he said. With homes in the area priced at more than $500,000 on average, families demand quality schools, Mr. Grisak said.

When the news isn't so good, educators end up more like company executives explaining a drop in stock prices.

The Coppell Independent School District saw its rating fall from "recognized" to "acceptable," and individual school ratings dropped at nine of 14 campuses. Two schools tumbled two notches: Coppell High from "recognized" to "unacceptable," and Coppell Middle North from "exemplary" to "acceptable."

Coppell ISD officials struck back Tuesday with a news release and statement on the district's home page: "The recently released [state] ratings do not accurately reflect the quality of education in the Coppell Independent School District." Officials, who said they plan to appeal the ratings for the district and three campuses, said they were hurt by Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores from a small group of students – those with disabilities.

The state factored in TAKS scores for students with disabilities for the first time this year.

Experts say the ratings frenzy is understandable, if not always sensible.

"Ultimately, what drives it is parents and educators want good schools," said Michael Sayler, an associate dean at the University of North Texas' college of education. State ratings offer an overview of how well schools are doing, he said.

Schools and districts wear high ratings like badges of honor. They trumpet their "exemplary" or "recognized" status on banners, at community meetings, and on letterheads and Web sites. Meanwhile, districts rated unacceptable for two consecutive years face sanctions, including the possibility of a forced merger with another district. Wilmer-Hutchins is the only district in that situation.

Still, the labels hide nuances. A school might have had an influx of immigrant students, posing new challenges for teachers. Scores might have increased on the TAKS, but not enough to earn a higher rating.

Plus, ratings often say just as much about the children attending the school as the job teachers are doing: Schools that serve poor children, for several reasons, tend to perform worse than their wealthier counterparts.

Case in point: The most affluent schools (where no more than one in five children are poor) represent just 12 percent of all schools in Texas, but they make up 60 percent of campuses rated "exemplary" this year.

Complicating matters, the state made it harder to pass the TAKS this year, making students answer more questions correctly.

Nancylyn Davis, who has two children at Coppell High, said she knew the ratings would be calculated differently this year but had no idea how much it would affect the district.

"Was it a surprise? You bet," Ms. Davis said. But that doesn't put her children's education at risk, she said. She expressed full confidence in the district.

"This rating does not change that," she said.

In Grapevine, parent Kathy Candaleria said she thinks the lower rating given this year to the Grapevine-Colleyville district – "acceptable" instead of "recognized" – may hurt its perception among some people. But Ms. Candaleria said she doesn't put that much stock in the ratings, which depend mostly on test scores.

"I don't believe in all this testing," Ms. Candaleria said.

Jim Fite, president of Century 21 Judge Fite Realtors, said homebuyers study school reports and ratings. Some will gravitate toward districts with higher marks from the state, he said.

Poor ratings could hurt the real estate market in some districts, Mr. Fite said.

At Ebby Halliday Realtors, agent Kay Weeks advises homebuyers to visit a school and meet the principal. Ask about extracurricular activities, she suggests, and find out if parents are involved.

"You really can't look at these ratings as the be-all, end-all," Ms. Weeks said. "If there were more criteria for people to look at rather than just what the state puts out, I think it would be a lot more helpful."

Staff writers Marissa Alanis, Herb Booth, Kim Breen and Stella Chavez contributed to this report.

E-mail hhacker@dallasnews.com