TAKS 2009

I want to dedicate the next few posts to evaluate GCISD's performance in the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test (TAKS), which is the main tool used by the Texas Education Agency to rank the School Districts in the state. The following table illustrates the District-wide results for the 2008 and 2009 tests, in all grades and subjects:


As shown in the table, scores stayed the same or improved at all levels except one. The exception was 6th Grade Math, but that area went down just 1% to a still very high 97% passing rate. Another general area worth noticing is the very high performance at the Elementary School level in all grades and subjects, with the lowest score at 95%.

Overall, Reading and Language Arts have been a priority for the District for many years, and it shows in the scores across the board. The District also reached 90% passing rates or above for all grades in Writing and Social Studies. Also, there was significant improvement in 8th Grade Science. Science is a subject were kids are struggling across the state and the nation, but GCISD is very close to having 90% of all our students passing the TAKS in that subject.

The most challenging area based on District-wide TAKS results is Math at the High School level. Math and Science are areas were the District will continue to focus in the coming school year, and I have no doubt that we will continue to see score improvements in future tests.

I want to congratulate our teachers, central administration and students for a job well done!