Ira ISD officials were understandably happy with the letter grade the district received today from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), but Hermleigh ISD officials had a different perspective.
Ira, which has received an A rating from TEA ever since the letter grade rating system was instituted, kept the streak going this year, Superintendent Brian Patterson said.
The school district received a 93 score from TEA, one point less than last year. In addition, the district received distinction awards in English/language arts and reading, mathematics, comparative academic growth and post-secondary readiness.
“I’ll take an A all day long,” Patterson said. “The teachers and students here did an outstanding job.”
Another reason Patterson was pleased with the district’s letter grade is because it easily understandable to the community.
“Because parents can easily associate with what it means, the community and parents know we’re doing a good job,” he said. “But to be honest, there’s still some stuff we can improve on. We’re happy with the grade, but we’re going to work to get better.”
Hermleigh ISD received a C grade from TEA and were rated as a C in all three domains the agency examined — student achievement, school progress and closing the gap.
Superintendent Cassie Petty questioned the accuracy of of an accountability system that places so much emphasis on student scores on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test.
“We don’t want to be negatively labeled and have people ignore all the great things we’re doing at Hermleigh ISD,” Petty said. “We’re going to continue to work hard to prepare our students for the future and jobs that don’t exist yet, and I don’t think that’s best accomplished by a test. I believe in accountability, but not in the way the state has set it up. We want to produce a product that meets the needs of our students and our community so that our students are prepared to go out and be competitive in whatever endeavor they take on.”
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