BELL COUNTY, TX — The Texas Public School rankings have been released; an annual report highlighting the performance of academic institutions across the lone star state.
Children at Risk, a Texas-based advocacy group, gives schools and districts letter grades. Districts are graded by weighing standardized test scores, student growth, school performance, and for high schools, college readiness.
Killeen ISD received an overall grade of D+. Killeen High School and Shoemaker both got an F. Other schools performed more favorable like Clear Creek Elementary which received a B+.
Copperas Cove ISD got an overall C- for the district.
They said that the organization calculated the performance of schools outside their jurisdiction when assessing them.
“While we appreciate the work of the Rainwater Foundation and the Children at Risk organization, the data used is based on an exam given on a single day and is not reflective of the diligent efforts of our staff or the exemplary performance of our student body. No single measure can adequately evaluate the effectiveness of instruction or the amount of learning embodied in a student over the course of a school year. Reports that rely on a single measure often fail to take in to consideration where each student begins their learning journey and the significant progress the vast majority of students in CCISD achieve each school year,” said Joseph Burns, Copperas Cove Superintendent.
Some parents echo the concerns of the district.
“I would really want to dig into the numbers of how they’re making these rankings and what they’re basing them upon. I found a lot of times these rankings are based off proxies or based on standardized test scores. I don’t think that really paints a complete picture. When we make a choice about where our student goes to school I would think that it would be based more on some other information and evaluating it first hand,” said Bruce Bowles, Jr., a Copperas Cove parent and professor at A&M Central Texas.
No one was available for comment from Killeen ISD.
We also reached out to Children at Risk, but no one was immediately available for comment.
In Central Texas, only 16 percent of schools got an A, and 27 percent got a B.
To view the report, click here.
