The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA), a department of ACT, released the 2010 NCEA Higher Performing Schools List for Texas on its public website www.nc4ea.org this week, which included Woodland Heights Elementary. The list identifies NCEA Higher Performing Schools–those elementary, middle, and high schools that have consistently outperformed their peers that serve similar student populations–and recognizes their achievement in bringing more students to college and career readiness than expected.
The 2010 NCEA Higher Performing Schools List sends a strong message to schools and districts across the nation–that all students can achieve at high standards and school improvement is possible no matter the zip code. Several schools with high poverty levels, defined as those with at least a 50% low-income population are included on the list. MacArthur Ninth Grade School in Aldine Independent School District in Houston, Texas is one such school and has consistently made the list in one or more state-tested subject areas for the last three years (2008, 2009 and 2010).
“Making the list, especially in all subjects, is a great achievement for these schools. With education reforms focused on higher standards and rigorous accountability measures such as the coming of the STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness), these higher performing schools show us that all students can, and will, get there,” says Efrain Mercado, Director of Outreach at NCEA. Our Texas educators are doing great work, but if we want every student to graduate with the skills to be successful beyond high school, there’s still more work to do. The schools on this list show us that Texas is making college and career readiness a priority. Notably, for the spring 2010 TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) testing, fewer than 1%, or 77 of the state’s public schools, were higher performing in all grades and tested subjects.
Schools on the list are identified by one of two measures: academic growth of students at the school and/or absolute achievement of students at the school using the TAKS’ Commended Performance level. The measures exemplify not only those schools that are able to improve their student performance from previous years but also those schools that push their students beyond the Met Standard (passing) level–a level that is typically too low to accurately measure student preparedness for postsecondary learning. These rigorous methods identified approximately 10% of all eligible schools in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science combined. When writing and social studies are included, the percentage of higher performing schools increased to approximately 12%.
NCEA (formerly known as Just for the Kids) began identifying Higher Performing Schools in 1998 and continues to annually release these lists as well as College and Career Readiness Charts for every public school in Texas.
About NCEA
The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) is a department of ACT, Inc., a not-for-profit organization committed to helping people achieve education and workplace success. NCEA builds the capacity of educators and leaders to create educational systems of excellence for all students by providing research-based solutions and expertise in higher performing schools, school improvement and best- practice research that lead to increased levels of college and career readiness.
