Published: June 19, 2006 05:16 pm      

TAKS scores vary along race, wealth lines

Cleburne ISD’s report on the 2006 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests revealed scoring information organized not only by grade, but by social subgroup as well.



11th grade

All 11th-grade black, Hispanic, white and economically disadvantaged students improved on their 2005 English scores, but the math, science and social studies tests showed areas of loss.

Hispanic students saw a slight drop in their math scores, going from 73 to 71 percent.

In social studies, black students fell from a 100-percent-passing rate to 92 percent and Hispanics dropped from 88 to 86 percent. Economically disadvantaged students fell from 89 to 86 in social studies. Whites’ scores remained at 97 percent in social studies.

Science saw a drop from all groups except Hispanics, who increased from 55 to 59 percent. Blacks dropped from 73 to 50 percent, whites went from 84 to 79 percent and the economically disadvantaged group fell from 58 to 55 percent.

English scores experienced an all-around increase, with blacks scoring 100 percent.



10th grade

Tenth-grade English and science scores improved significantly, but the social studies and some math scores declined.

English scores jumped by at least 38 percent — with blacks improving by 69 percent.

Assistant Superintendent Carolyn Cody said the major percentage jump was the result of hard work from teachers and students.

“We did a lot of concentrated work this year in the English department,” she said. “I think collectively across the state not a great deal of effort was made by the students, and we went out and made a concerted effort to fix that. The kids made a great effort this year.”

Science scores increased by at least 14 percent for all groups, but scores in math and social studies sections saw a backward slide.

White students fell behind in math, sliding from 72 to 67 percent, while all groups dropped in the social studies section.

Blacks went from 57 to 53 percent, Hispanics dropped from 69 to 63 percent, whites fell from 92 to 86 percent and the economically disadvantaged slid from 73 to 59 percent.



Ninth grade

Ninth-grade scores saw an increase in all reading and math scores, except for blacks, who dropped in the math portion. Social studies and English tests were not administered.

In reading, blacks increased their score by 25 percent, bringing their passing percentage to 82. The other groups increased their scores by a least 9 percent.

In math, blacks fell from 39 to 31 percent passing, but the other groups bettered their scores by at least 1 percent. Hispanics experienced the largest jump, escalating from 32 to 50 percent passing.



Eighth grade

Eighth-grade scores increased in math, but had losses in social studies and reading.

In social studies, black students fell from 72 to 62 percent, Hispanics dropped from 76 to 72 percent and the economically disadvantaged fell from 80 to 77 percent. Whites increased by 1 percent to 91 percent passing.

This was the first year for the Cleburne eighth-graders to take the science portion. Most of their totals revealed losses compared to the state average.

Black students had 38 percent passing, compared to the state’s 54-percent average. Hispanics had a 55-percent passing rate while the state had 61, and the economically disadvantaged scored at 65 while the state had a 59 percent average.

In the reading section, blacks’ scores dropped from 78 to 69 percent and whites’ scores fell from 90 to 87 percent.



Seventh grade

The seventh-grade scores showed increases in the math test, but revealed losses in the reading and writing sections.

The economically disadvantaged fell from 74 to 72 percent in reading, while whites and Hispanics held steady at 85 and 74 percent, respectively. The blacks increased their scores from 46 to 50 percent.

In writing, Hispanics and the economically disadvantaged dropped from 89 to 86 percent. Blacks increased their scores from 71 to 76, and whites jumped from 92 to 95 percent.



Sixth grade

Sixth-graders experienced an increase in both the math and reading tests. English, science and social studies tests were not administered.

The largest jumps came from black students, who increased from 68 to 81 percent in math. The economic disadvantaged increased by 14 percent, whites jumped 5 percent and Hispanic scores escalated 2 percent.

In reading, blacks increased their score from 89 to 96 percent. The other groups all increased by at least 3 percent.



Fifth grade

The fifth-grade scores saw mostly increases, except for a handful of scores.

All students increased their science scores, except blacks, who fell from 55 to 33 percent. Math scores also fell from 79 to 70 for blacks, and whites’ scores dropped from 91 to 89 percent. In reading, blacks’ scores saw a significant slide, going from 89 to 68 percent passing. Whites also dropped from 95 to 94 percent.



Fourth grade

In the fourth-grade, all writing scores increased, with blacks bringing their score to 100 percent, but math scores fell. Reading scores increased slightly, but two groups had no change from previous scores.

In math, the Hispanic group dropped from 76 to 74 percent. The whites fell from 89 to 88 percent and the economically disadvantaged math scores dropped from 80 to 75 percent. Reading scores saw no loss, though the economically disadvantaged remained even at 73 percent and Hispanics remained at 71 percent.



Third grade

Third-grade math scores had areas of fluctuation, while most of the reading scores declined.

Reading scores dropped slightly for most groups, as blacks went from 95 to 92 percent, whites went from 98 to 96 percent and the economically disadvantaged slid from 93 to 91 percent. Hispanic students remained even at 91 percent.

In math, the third-grade black students dropped from 77 to 73 percent passing and whites dropped from 90 to 89 percent. Hispanic and the economically disadvantaged increased their scores by 1 percent, ending with 77 and 81 percent respectively.



Versus the state average

All of the district’s TAKS results were on par or higher than the statewide averages, except for the 11th-grade science scores and 10th-grade social studies scores.

The 11th-grade science scores were slightly lower than the state’s 74 percent. The 10th-grade social studies results saw 79 percent passing compared to the state’s 83 percent.

Cody said the scores mean a great deal to the district.

“It’s a great way for us to measure the progress of the students,” she said. “State accountability is also tied to the results.”

Cody said the state’s campus ratings won’t come until August, after the Texas Education Agency evaluates the scores and determines which schools will be exemplary, recognized and academically acceptable.



Philip Navarrette can be reached at

817-645-2441, ext. 2337,

or reporter@trcle.com.