Business leader rips school accountability system

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AUSTIN (AP) — The state's public school accountability system fails students, parents and businesses because it has allowed schools to hide high dropout rates and still be considered academically acceptable, a Texas business leader and activist said Thursday, urging state officials to reverse the trend.

Education Commissioner Robert Scott last week released school accountability ratings, which showed more schools with higher marks but did not include dropout rates in the calculations. Scott said schools were given a waiver as they transition into a new, more accurate method of measuring dropouts.

"Once again, the Texas Education Agency has turned a blind eye to the dropout crisis in Texas," said Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business. "The agency has declared that it's academically acceptable for one-third of all students to drop out and for one half of Hispanics to do the same. To whom is this acceptable?"

Estimates show the state's dropout rate at about a third — and even higher among blacks and Hispanics.

TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe, noting that the accountability system is adjusted annually, said the waiver for counting dropouts will not be used again next year.

"Typically when we introduce a new factor into the accountability system, we report the data for two years and then use the data in the calculation in the third year," Ratcliffe said. "This is the second year that we have reported dropout and completion rates using a new system. The commissioner has made it clear that this information will be fully used in the accountability system next year."

The accountability system is based largely on the state's standardized test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but is also set up to hold schools accountable for their dropout rates. Ratings are based on overall student achievement and performance among racial and economically disadvantaged subgroups.

Lawmakers are studying the system and are expected to propose an overhaul of the accountability system when the Legislature convenes in January.

Hammond also criticized the accountability system for allowing a school to be considered academically acceptable even if as many as 45 percent of students fail the math portion of the test.

"We need an accountability system that is honest about where we are today and most importantly that sets a goal of high school graduates that are ready to compete in the work place and who will go on to post secondary education," Hammond said. "We cannot have a first-rate public education system in Texas with a second-rate accountability system."

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