TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2009

New Accountability Ratings Show Achievement Gains, But Insufficient State Funding Puts Future Gains in Doubt

Thanks to you and hundreds of thousands of dedicated teachers and education employees like you, school ratings out today defied the expectations of many and showed significant achievement gains. Thanks to insufficient state investment in education, though, problems persist with high dropout rates, and the ability of our schools to continue improving is in serious doubt. Here's how Texas AFT sized up the situation in a press release this afternoon on the new ratings published by the Texas Education Agency:

School ratings reflect need to invest in education, community partnerships to sustain achievement gains, cut dropout rates 
 
The Texas Education Agency today released its state accountability ratings for districts and campuses (http://www.tea.state.tx.us). While rating declines due to dropout rates signal the need for community partnerships that provide safety nets for students at risk of not completing high school, the rise in recognized and exemplary schools shows significant gains in student academic achievement.
 
"Teachers, students and the educational teams on their campuses have done a remarkable job of continuing the trend of rising achievement," said Linda Bridges, Texas AFT President. "But the future isn't so bright when you look at a state education budget built on the assumption that half our schools will be failing to make adequate yearly progress by 2011."
 
That failure rate of 50 percent under the federal accountability system is the officially targeted "performance measure" Texas public schools are expected to meet with the funding provided under the budget scenario approved by lawmakers in Austin this year. "I often wonder how the legislature can actually walk away way at the end of the session knowing that they've given a stamp of approval for an education funding system designed to fail," Bridges said.
 
The challenges will only increase with rising numbers of low-income children and increasing numbers of those with limited English language proficiency, Bridges said. She also pointed to recent comments from Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes on the need to broaden our understanding of what goes into educational achievement. As Dr. Paredes told the Austin American-Statesman:
 
"We need to do a better job of making sure that the leadership of Texas recognizes that educational attainment occurs within a broader socio-economic context...Children who don't have health insurance and consequently can't get glasses and can't see well don't learn as well as children that do," he said. "We have to recognize that, yes, this will require investments. But the investments more than pay off in terms of economic benefits and overall quality-of-life factors."
 
Bridges said the long-term solution is for legislators to "wake up and smell the future" by funding a school finance system sufficient to underwrite educational success for students from early childhood through college. "Until they do, we need to do the best we can to develop and strengthen community partnerships that take a holistic approach to addressing student needs, such as social services to address health and nutrition, greater involvement from businesses and parents, and more community resources to assist teachers in their work. Those efforts also will provide the safety net needed to combat dropouts."