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Accountability Rating: This refers to the district and campus ratings assigned by the 2008 state accountability system. Districts and campuses are evaluated on performance on the TAKS, completion rate and annual dropout rate. Possible ratings are:

• Exemplary;
• Recognized;
• Academically Acceptable;
• Academically Unacceptable;
• Not Rated: Other; and
• Not Rated: Data Integrity Issues.

The above ratings apply to districts (including charter operators) and schools rated under the standard accountability procedures.

Additionally, alternative education accountability (AEA) ratings are issued to campuses and charters registered to be evaluated under AEA procedures. Possible AEA ratings are:

• AEA: Academically Acceptable;
• AEA: Academically Unacceptable; and
• AEA: Not Rated - Other.

For a more detailed explanation of the accountability system, see the 2008 Accountability Manual available at www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2008/manual/.

Accountability Subset: This refers to the group of non-mobile students whose performance on the TAKS is used in determining a school's and district's accountability rating. Specifically, the subsets have been calculated as follows:

Campus-level accountability subset: If a student was reported in membership at one campus on October 26, 2007, but moves to another campus before the TAKS test, that student's performance was removed from the accountability results for both campuses, whether the campuses were in the same district or different districts. Campuses were held accountable only for those students reported to be enrolled in the campus in the fall and tested in the same campus in the second semester.

District-level accountability subset: If a student was in one district on October 26, 2007, but then moved to another district before the TAKS test, that student's performance was taken out of the accountability subset for both districts. However, if the student moved from campus to campus within the district, his or her performance was included in that district's results, even though it did not count for either campus. This means that district performance results do not match the sum of the campus performance results.

TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation, included in the AEIS report, shows what percent of a district's or school's test takers are mobile and are not included in the Accountability Subset. For additional information and examples of how the accountability subset is determined, see Chapter 2 of the 2008 Accountability Manual. Also see Mobile, TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation, and Appendix E.

Adopted Tax Rate (calendar year 2007) (District Profile only): This is the locally adopted tax rate set for the 2007 calendar year. The total adopted rate is composed of a maintenance and operation rate (M&O) and a debt service rate (sometimes referred to as the Interest and Sinking fund rate). Rates are expressed per $100 of taxable value. Taxes based on this rate were to be paid by taxpayers in early 2008. The state value shown for the adopted tax rates is the simple average of all the district rates. (Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, July 2008)

Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Completion: This indicator is based on a count of students who complete and receive credit for at least one advanced course in grades 9-12. Advanced courses include dual enrollment courses. Dual enrollment courses are those for which a student gets both high school and college credit. Deciding who gets credit for which college course is described in Texas Administrative Code §74.25 which states, in part:

(b) To be eligible to enroll and be awarded credit toward state graduation requirements, a student must have the approval of the high school principal or other school official designated by the school district. The course for which credit is awarded must provide advanced academic instruction beyond, or in greater depth than, the essential knowledge and skills for the equivalent high school course.

Appendix C lists all courses identified as advanced, with the exception of courses designated only as dual enrollment. Dual enrollment courses are not shown, as the courses vary from campus to campus and could potentially include a large proportion of all high school courses.

Course completion information is reported by districts through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) after the close of the school year. The values, expressed as a percent, are calculated as follows:

number of students in grades 9-12 who received credit for at least
one advanced or dual enrollment course in 2006-07
divided by
number of students in grades 9-12 who completed at least one course in 2006-07

Schools and districts may qualify for Gold Performance Acknowledgment for advanced course/dual enrollment completion. For a more detailed explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgment, see Chapter 5 of the 2008 Accountability Manual.

Special education students are included in the results shown for the campus or district and the individual student groups. For purposes of comparison, course completion rates are also shown for the prior year (2005-06). See also Appendix C. (Source: PEIMS, June 2007, June 2006)

Advanced Placement Examinations: See AP/IB Results.

All Funds: Financial information is broken down by fund type (general fund only and all funds). All Funds consists of four fundamental fund groups: General Fund (fund codes 101-199 and 420), Special Revenue Funds (fund codes 200/300/400), Debt Service Funds (fund code 599), and Capital Projects Funds (fund codes 601 and 699). It also includes the Enterprise Fund, and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program (fund code 701). Within the general fund, fund code 420-Foundation School Program and Other State Aid-is used by charter operators only.

Note that all financial data shown by fund is actual data, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See Appendix B. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Annual Dropout Rate: Three annual dropout rate indicators are shown:

(1) Annual Dropout Rate (Gr 7-8). This includes only grades 7 and 8. This is the rate used in determining a campus accountability rating under standard procedures (for campuses that have one or both of those grades) or the district's rating. It is calculated as follows:

number of dropouts in grades 7 and 8
divided by
number of grade 7 and 8 students who were in attendance at any time during the 2006-07 school year

(2) Annual Dropout Rate (Gr 7-12). This includes grades 7 through 12. This is the rate used in determining a campus or charter operator accountability rating under AEA procedures (for campuses or charters that have one or more of those grades). It is calculated as follows:

number of dropouts in grades 7 through 12
divided by
number of grade 7-12 students who were in attendance at any time during the 2006-07 school year

(3) Annual Dropout Rate (Gr 9-12). This includes grades 9 through 12. This measure shows the dropout rates for the high school grades. It is a report-only measure and is not used in determining accountability ratings. It is calculated as follows:

number of dropouts in grades 9 through 12
divided by
number of grade 9-12 students who were in attendance at any time during the 2006-07 school year

Beginning with dropouts reported for the 2005-06 school year, TEA used a more rigorous dropout definition, based on the federal definition for dropouts. To aid in the transition to the new definition, a feature was added to the state accountability system, the School Leaver Provision. Under this provision, a campus or district's rating could not be lowered solely because of performance on its annual dropout rate. This provision applied to both the 2007 and 2008 rating years. The 2007-08 AEIS reports show two years of data because the 2006-07 and 2005-06 dropout rates use comparable definitions. See Appendix I of the 2008 Accountability Manual for more information on the dropout definition.

All three annual rates appear on district, region, and state-level AEIS reports. Reports for secondary campuses evaluated under standard procedures show the grade 7-8 and grade 9-12 rates. Reports for secondary campuses evaluated under AEA procedures show the grade 7-8 and grade 7-12 rates.

Note that with all annual dropout rate calculations, a cumulative count of students is used in the denominator. This method for calculating the dropout rate neutralizes the effects of mobility by including in the denominator every student ever reported in attendance at the campus or district throughout the school year, regardless of length of stay. For a more complete description of dropout rates, see the Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools, 2006-07 reports, available at www.tea.state.tx.us/research/. See also Dropout and Leaver Record. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2006, Oct. 2007 and June 2007)

AP/IB Results: These refer to the results of the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) examinations and the International Baccalaureate Organization's International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations taken by Texas public school students. High school students may take these examinations, ideally upon completion of AP or IB courses, and may receive advanced placement or credit, or both, upon entering college. Generally, colleges will award credit or advanced placement for scores of 3, 4, or 5 on AP examinations and scores of 4, 5, 6, or 7 on IB examinations. Requirements vary by college and by subject tested.

Three values are calculated for this indicator:

(1) Tested. This shows the percent of students in grades 11 and 12 taking at least one AP or IB examination:

number of 11th and 12th grade students taking at least one AP or IB examination
divided by
number of non-special education 11th and 12th grade students

(2) Examinees ≥ Criterion. The percent of examinees with at least one AP or IB score at or above the criterion score (3 on AP or 4 on IB):

number of 11th and 12th graders with at least one score at or above criterion
divided by
number of 11th and 12th graders with at least one AP or IB examination

(3) Scores ≥ Criterion. This shows the percent of scores at or above the criterion score (3 on AP or 4 on IB):

number of 11th and 12th grade AP & IB examination scores at or above criterion
divided by
number of 11th and 12th grade AP & IB examination scores

The denominator of equation (1) does not include 11th and 12th grade students served in special education; however, all students who took at least one AP or IB examination are included in the numerator. The performance of special education students is included in both the numerator and denominator of the other equations.

Schools and districts may qualify for Gold Performance Acknowledgment for participation and performance on AP/IB results (measures (1) and (2) above). For a more detailed explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgment, see the 2008 Accountability Manual. See also Criterion Score. (Sources: The College Board, Aug. 2007, Jan. 2007; The International Baccalaureate Organization, Aug. 2007, Aug. 2006; and PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006)

ARD: This refers to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal committee that determines the individual education plan for every student in special education. See also Special Education and TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation.

At-Risk: A student is identified as at risk of dropping out of school based on state-defined criteria (§TEC 29.081.) At-risk status is obtained from the PEIMS 110 records. The percent of at-risk students is calculated as the sum of the students coded as at risk, divided by the total number of students in membership:

number of students coded as at-risk
divided by
total number of students

A column showing at-risk student performance is shown on the district, region, and state reports. While this column is not available on the campus-level reports, counts of at-risk students are shown in the Profile section of the campus reports (as well as the district, region, and state reports).

The statutory criteria for at-risk status include each student who is under 21 years of age and who:

1. was not advanced from one grade level to the next for one or more school years;
2. is in grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 and did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in the current semester;
3. did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument administered to the student under TEC Subchapter B, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school year subsequently performed on that instrument or another appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
4. is in prekindergarten, kindergarten or grades 1, 2, or 3 and did not perform satisfactorily on a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the current school year;
5. is pregnant or is a parent;
6. has been placed in an alternative education program in accordance with §TEC 37.006 during the preceding or current school year;
7. has been expelled in accordance with §TEC 37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
8. is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution, or other conditional release;
9. was previously reported through the PEIMS to have dropped out of school;
10. is a student of limited English proficiency, as defined by §TEC 29.052;
11. is in the custody or care of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or has, during the current school year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
12. is homeless, as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11302 and its subsequent amendments; or
13. resided in the preceding school year or resides in the current school year in a residential placement facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house, or foster group home.

(Sources: PEIMS, Oct. 2007; Texas Education Code, 79th Texas Legislature)

Attendance Rate: Attendance rates reported in AEIS are based on student attendance for the entire school year. Only students in grades 1-12 are included in the calculations. Attendance is calculated as follows:

total number of days students were present in 2006-07
divided by
total number of days students were in membership in 2006-07

Schools and districts may qualify for Gold Performance Acknowledgment based on their attendance rate. For a more detailed explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgment, see the 2008 Accountability Manual.

Attendance rates are shown for 2006-07 and 2005-06. (Source: PEIMS, June 2007, June 2006)

Auxiliary Staff (District Profile only): This shows the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) count of staff reported without a role but with a PEIMS employment and payroll record. Counts of auxiliary staff are expressed as a percent of total staff. For auxiliary staff, the FTE is simply the value of the percent of day worked. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Average Actual Salaries (regular duties only): For each professional staff type, the total salary is divided by the total FTE count of staff who receive that salary. The total actual salary amount is pay for regular duties only and does not include supplemental payments for coaching, band and orchestra assignments, and club sponsorships. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Average Teacher Salary by Years of Experience (regular duties only): Total pay for teachers within each experience group is divided by the total teacher FTE for the group. The total actual salary amount is pay for regular duties only and does not include supplements. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Average Years Experience of Teachers: Weighted averages are obtained by multiplying each teacher's FTE count by years of experience. These amounts are summed for all teachers and divided by the total teacher FTE count, resulting in the averages shown. This measure refers to the total number of (completed) years of professional experience for the individual in any district. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Average Years Experience of Teachers with District: Weighted averages are obtained by multiplying each teacher's FTE count by years of experience. These amounts are summed for all teachers and divided by the total teacher FTE count, resulting in the averages shown. This measure refers to tenure, i.e., the number of years employed in the reporting district, whether or not there has been any interruption in service.

Campus Group: Each campus is assigned to a unique comparison group of 40 other public schools (from anywhere in the state), that closely matches that campus on six characteristics. Comparison groups are provided so that schools can compare their performance to that of other schools with whom they are demographically similar. Comparison groups are also used for determining the Comparable Improvement Gold Performance Acknowledgments.

The demographic characteristics used to construct the campus comparison groups include those defined in statute as well as others found to be statistically related to performance. They are:

• the percent of African American students enrolled for 2007-08;
• the percent of Hispanic students enrolled for 2007-08;
• the percent of White students enrolled for 2007-08;
• the percent of economically disadvantaged students enrolled for 2007-08;
• the percent of limited English proficient (LEP) students enrolled for 2007-08; and
• the percent of mobile students as determined from 2006-07 cumulative attendance.

All schools are first grouped by type (elementary, middle, secondary, or multi-level). Then the group is determined on the basis of the most predominant features at the target school. For example, assume a high school has 40.5% African American, 20.9% Hispanic, 32.5% White, 35.6% economically disadvantaged, 11.2% limited English proficient, and 21.7% mobile students. Of these features, the most predominant (i.e., the largest) is the percent of African American students, followed by the percent of economically disadvantaged students, the percent of White students, the percent of mobile students, the percent of Hispanic students, and finally, the percent of limited English proficient students. The following steps illustrate the group identification process:

Step 1: 100 secondary campuses having percentages closest to 40.5% African American are identified;

Step 2: 10 schools from the initial group of 100 are eliminated on the basis of being most distant from the value of 35.6% economically disadvantaged;

Step 3: 10 of the remaining 90 schools that are most distant from 32.5% White students are eliminated;

Step 4: 10 of the remaining 80 schools that are most distant from 21.7% mobile students are eliminated;

Step 5: 10 of the remaining 70 schools that are most distant from 20.9% Hispanic students are eliminated;

Step 6: 10 of the remaining 60 schools that are most distant from 11.2% limited English proficient students are eliminated; and

Step 7: 10 of the remaining 50 schools that are most distant from 20.9% Hispanic students and/or 32.5% White students are eliminated. (This last reduction step is based on the least predominant characteristics among the four student groups evaluated in the accountability system: African American, Hispanic, White, and economically disadvantaged.)

The final group size is 40 schools. This methodology creates a unique comparison group for every campus. Please note the following:

• With this methodology, the number of times a school appears as a member of other groups will vary.
• In cases where the campus has a missing mobility value, the district's average mobility is used as a proxy. This will happen for schools in their first year of operation.
• Districts are not grouped.

In the Performance section of a campus AEIS report, the value given in the Campus Group column is the median of the values from the 40-school group for that campus. (The median is defined as that point in the distribution of values, above and below which one-half of the values fall.) In the Profile section of the report, the value given in the Campus Group column is the mean, or average value. If a report contains question marks (?) in the Campus Group column, this means there were too few schools in the comparison group (specifically, fewer than 25 schools) to have confidence in the median values. Such small numbers are considered too unstable to provide an adequate comparison group value.

See Comparable Improvement and Texas Growth Index.

Campus #: The campus number is the unique 9-digit identifying number assigned to every Texas public school. It consists of the county number (assigned alphabetically from 001 to 254), followed by the district number (9-- is used primarily for regular districts, 8-- for charter operators), and ending with the campus number (generally 00- for high schools, 04- for middle schools, and 1-- for elementary schools).

Class Size Averages by Grade and Subject: These values show the average class size for elementary classes (by grade) and for secondary classes (by subject) for selected subjects. Districts do not report actual class size averages. The class size averages are computed by the TEA based on the teacher role and class schedule information reported in the PEIMS 090 record by the district each fall. The following principles are used in deriving the average class sizes:

1. classes identified as serving regular, compensatory/remedial, gifted and talented, career and technical, and honors students are included in the calculation;
2. subjects in the areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, foreign language, computer science, business education, vocational, and self-contained are included in the calculation;
3. classes where the number of students served is reported to be zero are not included in the calculation;
4. service codes with the "SR" prefix are not included in the calculation;
5. only teacher roles coded as "special duty teacher," "teacher, " and "substitute teacher" are included in the calculation;
6. only class settings coded as "regular class" are included in the calculation;
7. missing partial FTE counts are not included in the calculation;
8. if a teacher teaches more than one class at the same time, the records are combined into a single class; and
9. elementary classes where the number of students exceeds 100 are excluded from the calculation.

The methodology differs depending on whether the class is elementary or secondary due to differences in reporting practices for these two types of teacher schedules. For secondary classes, each unique combination of teacher and class time is counted as a class. Averages are determined by summing the number of students served (in a given subject at the campus) and dividing by the calculated count of classes.

For elementary classes, the number of records reported for each grade is considered. For example, a teacher teaching a variety of subjects to the same group of fourth graders all day should have only one record indicating the total number of fourth grade students served. However, an elementary teacher who teaches a single subject to five different sections of fourth graders each day will have five separate records reported, each with a unique count of students served. Average class sizes are calculated by summing all the students served (in a given grade at the campus) and dividing by the sum of the teacher FTE counts for those records. So, for example, a full-time mathematics teacher with five sections of fourth graders, with 20 different students in each, would have an average of 100/5 or 20 students.

College Admissions Tests: See SAT/ACT Results.

College Readiness Indicators: These indicators are grouped together to help provide a picture of college preparedness at a given high school. They can be used by educators as they work to ensure that students are able to perform college-level course work at institutions of higher education.

The indicators include:

• Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Completion;
• Recommended High School Program/Distinguished Achievement Program Graduates;
• AP/IB Results;
• Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Higher Education Readiness Component;
• SAT/ACT Results; and
• College-Ready Graduates.

College-Ready Graduates: To be considered college-ready as defined by this indicator, a graduate must have met or exceeded the college-ready criteria on the TAKS exit-level test, or the SAT test, or the ACT test. The criteria for each is:

Three values are calculated for this indicator:

(1) Eng Lang Arts. This shows the percent of graduates who scored at or above the criterion score on the TAKS, SAT, or ACT English language arts tests.

number of graduates who scored at or above the College-Ready criterion for ELA
divided by
number of graduates (class of 2007) with ELA results to evaluate

(2) Mathematics. This shows the percent of graduates who scored at or above the criterion score on the TAKS, SAT, or ACT mathematics tests.

number of graduates who scored at or above the College-Ready criterion for mathematics
divided by
number of graduates (class of 2007) with mathematics results to evaluate

(3) Both Subjects. This shows the percent of graduates who scored at or above the criterion score on both the TAKS, SAT, or ACT ELA and mathematics tests.

number of graduates who scored at or above the College-Ready criteria on both ELA & mathematics
divided by
number of graduates (class of 2007) with results in both subjects to evaluate

This indicator differs from the TSI - Higher Education Readiness Component, in several ways:

• it includes performance on the SAT and ACT;
• it is based on prior year graduates rather than current year 11th graders;
• it provides an overall measure of both subjects combined; and
• performance is tied to the campus and district where the student graduated, while the TSI indicator uses the campus and district where the TAKS tests were administered.

For 2008, performance on the exit-level TAKS includes the performance on TAKS (Accommodated). To allow for comparison, two years are shown, and prior year (2007) has been recomputed to include performance on TAKS (Accommodated).

(Sources: TEA Student Assessment Division, The College Board, Aug. 2007, ACT, Inc. Oct. 2007; and PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Commended Performance: See TAKS.

Community Services (2006-07) (District Profile only): Expenditures for activities or purposes other than regular public education. These are activities relating to the whole community, such as the operation of a school library, swimming pool, and playgrounds for the public (objects 6100-6400, function 61). Community Services expenditures are shown as a stand-alone amount and are not included in total operating expenditures.

Note this item is reported as actual expenditures, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See also Appendix B. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Comparable Improvement: Comparable Improvement (CI) is a measure that calculates how student performance on the TAKS mathematics and reading/English language arts tests has changed (or grown) from one year to the next, and compares the change to that of the 40 schools that are demographically most similar to the target school.

CI is calculated separately for reading/ELA and mathematics, based on individual student Texas Growth Index (TGI) values. The student-level TGI values are aggregated to the campus level to create an average TGI for each campus. The average TGI values for the 40 member group are rank ordered. Schools that fall into the first quartile (i.e. top 10 schools of the 40 in their campus group), receive Gold Performance Acknowledgment for CI.

For 2008, performance on exit-level TAKS (Accommodated) tests was included in determining CI. See Chapter 5 of the 2008 Accountability Manual for a complete explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgments. For a detailed explanation of TGI, see Appendix E of the 2008 Accountability Manual. See also Campus Group, Texas Growth Index, and Appendix D.

Completion Rate: This indicator shows the status of a group (cohort) of students after four years in high school. The cohort consists of students who first attended ninth grade in 2003-04. They are followed through their expected graduation as the class of 2007. Any student who transferred into the 2003-04 cohort is added to it, and any student who transfers out of the 2003-04 cohort is subtracted from it.

• A student who transfers into the cohort is one who, for example, moves into the cohort from another high school in Texas or from out of state.
• A student who transfers out of the cohort is one who, for example, moves to another public high school in Texas; note that these students are then transferred into the cohort of the receiving high school and district. There are also students who move out of the state or out of the country, or students who transfer to private schools or who are home-schooled. These types of transfers cannot be tracked and are taken out of the cohort.
• Students do not change cohorts even if they repeat a grade or skip a grade. If they begin with the 2003-04 ninth grade cohort, they remain with that cohort. This means, for example, that a student who started the ninth grade in 2003-04, but takes 6 years to graduate (i.e., in May 2009) is still part of the 2003-04 cohort; they are not switched to the 2005-06 cohort. This student would be considered a continuing student, and counted as part of the Continued HS number for the class of 2007.

Other important information:

• For the 2007 accountability cycle TEA began using a more rigorous dropout definition, which was based on the federal definition for dropouts. To aid in the transition to the new definition, a feature was added to the state accountability system, the School Leaver Provision. Under this provision, a campus or district's rating could not be lowered solely because of performance on its completion rate. This provision applied to both the 2007 and 2008 rating years. For a more complete description of the new dropout definition, see Appendix I of the 2008 Accountability Manual.
• Dropouts are counted according to the dropout definition in place the year they drop out. The definition changed in 2005-06. Completion rates for classes in which the national dropout definition is being phased in (i.e., classes of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009) are not comparable to completion rates for the class of 2005 and prior classes, nor to each other.
• Special Education students who graduate with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) are included as graduates.
• This indicator is computed and reported for districts as well as for high schools that have had continuous enrollment in grades 9-12 since at least the 2003-04 school year. Campuses that only serve some of these grades or that have been in existence for fewer than five years do not show a completion rate.

The four student outcomes used in computing the longitudinal rates are:

(1) Graduated. Based on the 2003-04 cohort, this shows the percent who received their high school diploma on time or earlier - by the end of the 2006-07 school year. It is calculated as follows:

number of students from the cohort who received a high school diploma by the end of 2006-07
divided by
number of students in the 2003-04 cohort*

(2) Received GED. Based on the 2003-04 cohort, this shows the percentage who received a General Educational Development certificate by August 31, 2007. It is calculated as follows:

number of students from the cohort who received a GED
divided by
number of students in the 2003-04 cohort*

(3) Continued High School. Based on the 2003-04 cohort, this shows the percentage still enrolled as students in the fall of the 2007-08 school year. It is calculated as follows:

number of students from the cohort who were enrolled for the 2007-08 school year
divided by
number of students in the 2003-04 cohort*

(4) Dropped Out (4-yr). Based on the 2003-04 cohort, this shows the percentage who dropped out and did not return by the fall of the 2007-08 school year. It is calculated as follows:

number of students from the cohort who dropped out before the fall of the 2007-08 school year
divided by
number of students in the 2003-04 cohort*

* The cohort in the denominator of the formulas shown above includes those students who graduated, continued in school, received a GED, or dropped out. It does not include data errors or leavers with the following leaver reason codes. See the following table (note that the leaver reason codes vary, based on year):

These four outcomes sum to 100% (some totals may not equal exactly 100% due to rounding).

For the 2007-08 AEIS reports, the completion rate is shown three different ways:

1. Completion/Student Status Rate. This shows all of the above measures separately. The prior rate (class of 2006) is also shown.
2. Completion Rate II (w/GED). This indicator sums together the first three of the above outcomes: the percent of students in the 2003-04 cohort who received their high school diplomas by the end of the 2006-07 school year, those who received GEDs, and those who were still enrolled as high school students for the 2007-08 school year. This rate is used for determining the alternative education accountability ratings
3. Completion Rate I (w/o GED). This indicator sums together the first and third of the above outcomes: the percent of students in the 2003-04 cohort who received their high school diplomas by the end of the 2006-07 school year and those who were still enrolled as high school students for the 2007-08 school year. This rate is used for determining the standard accountability ratings.

Completion rates for districts serving Texas Youth Commission facilities do not include students from the facilities unless the students have been attributed to regular campuses in the district of service through campus of accountability procedures.

For further information on these rates, see the report Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools, 2006-07. (Sources: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, June 2007, Oct. 2006, June 2006, Oct. 2005, June 2005, Oct. 2004, June 2004, Oct. 2003, June 2003, June 2002, June 2001, and General Educational Development Information File)

Completion/Student Status Rate: See Completion Rate.

Criterion Score: This refers to the scores on SAT and ACT college admissions tests, the AP and IB tests, and the college-ready indicator. For college admissions tests, the criterion scores are at least 24 on the ACT (composite) and at least 1110 on the SAT (total). For AP and IB tests, the criterion scores are at least 3 on AP tests, and at least 4 on IB tests. For college-ready criterion scores, see College-Ready Graduates.

Please note that each college and university establishes its own score criteria for admitting or granting advanced placement or credit to individual students. See also SAT/ACT Results and AP/IB Results.

Data Quality (District Profile only): The AEIS reports show the percent of errors a district made in two key data submissions: 1) the PID Error rate in PEIMS Student Data, and 2) the percent of Underreported Students in PEIMS Student Leaver Data.

(1) PID Error Rate. The Person Identification Database (PID) system ensures that each time information is collected for a student, the identifying information matches other data collections for that student. This allows student data to be linked, such as enrollment records, which are collected in October, to attendance records, which are collected in June; or data to be matched across years. It also helps maintain student confidentiality by assigning an ID that does not divulge the student's identifying information.

During the data submission process each district has the ability to run PID Discrepancy Reports that show any PID errors found. The district then has time to correct the errors before its submission is finalized. While the PID error rate has declined significantly over the years, any amount of error has a detrimental effect on the calculation of longitudinal measures such as the four-year dropout rate and the high school completion rate. The AEIS reports show the PID error rate in PEIMS Student Data, collected in Submission 1 (Oct. 2007).

The rate is calculated as follows:

number of student PID errors found in PEIMS submission 1 (fall 2007)
divided by
number of student records in PEIMS submission 1 (fall 2007)

(2) Percent of Underreported Students. Underreported students are 7th-12th graders who were enrolled at any time the prior year and who were not accounted for through district records or TEA processing in the current year. A district is required to submit a leaver record for any student served in grades 7-12 the previous year, unless the student received a GED certificate by August 31, is a previous Texas public school graduate, moved to another Texas public school district, or returned to the district by the end of the school start window (for this year's AEIS report, that was September 28, 2007). Leaver reasons include: graduated, died, or dropped out. (For a more complete definition of leavers, see Leaver Records.)

The rate is calculated as follows:

number of underreported students
divided by
number of grade 7-12 students who were served in the district in the 2006-07 school year

Under the accountability system, there have been consequences for districts that exceeded certain thresholds for this measure. However, for 2007 and 2008, a school leaver provision was in place in the accountability system that states a district rating cannot be lowered because of performance on the underreported students indicator.

Distinguished Achievement Program: See RHSP/DAP Graduates.

Dropout: A dropout is a student who is enrolled in public school in grades 7-12, does not return to public school the following fall, is not expelled, and does not graduate, receive a GED, continue school outside the public school system, begin college, or die.

Dropout counts are obtained from PEIMS records. Based on the attendance and enrollment records of all districts, the records of Texas graduates for the last several years, and GED certificate records, TEA identifies students for whom districts do not need to submit leaver records. School districts must account for all other students through the submission of leaver reasons. The leaver record provides 14 possible reasons for leaving school, including one which indicates the student is a dropout (98).

Beginning with 2005-06 dropouts and continuing with 2006-07 dropouts reported in this year's AEIS reports, TEA is using a more rigorous dropout definition, based on the federal definition. See Appendix I of the 2008 Accountability Manual for information on the dropout definition. See also Annual Dropout Rate. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Dropout Rate: See Annual Dropout Rate.

Economically Disadvantaged: The percent of economically disadvantaged students is calculated as the sum of the students coded as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or eligible for other public assistance, divided by the total number of students:

number of students coded as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or other public assistance
divided by
total number of students

See also Campus Group and Total Students. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006; and TEA Student Assessment Division)

Educational Aides: Educational aides are staff who are reported with a role of 033 (Educational Aide), 036 (Certified Interpreter), or 037 (Non-Certified Interpreter). These aides are referred to as paraprofessional staff. The FTE counts of educational aides are expressed as a percent of the total staff FTE. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

English Language Learners Progress Measure: Reporting of the ELL Progress Measure is suspended for one year due to the transition from the Reading Proficiency Tests in English (RPTE) to the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS). The ELL measure will be reported on the 2008-09 AEIS reports and will incorporate progress made on the TELPAS reading test between the 2008 and 2009 administrations.

Enrollment: See Total Students.

Equity Transfers (2006-07) (District Profile only): The amount "excluded from revenues" is the expenditures reported by districts for reducing their property wealth to the required equalized wealth level (function 91). The amount "excluded from expenditures" is the expenditures reported by districts for the cost of reducing their property wealth to the required equalized wealth level (function 91). Payments to Charter Schools (function 96) are also included in both items in this category.

Note this item is reported as actual expenditures, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See also Appendix B. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Ethnic Distribution: Students are reported as White, African American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American. In the Profile section, both counts and percentages of the total number of students in each of these categories are shown. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006; The College Board; ACT Inc.; The International Baccalaureate Organization; and TEA Student Assessment Division)

FTE: Full-Time Equivalent.

Fund Balance Information (District Profile only): The amount of undesignated, unreserved fund balance that existed at the end of the 2006-07 school year is reported for each district.

The unreserved fund balance is not legally restricted and has two components: designated and undesignated. The designated component requires local board action to earmark the balance for bona fide purposes that will be fulfilled within a reasonable period of time. The undesignated component is available to finance monthly operating expenditures.

The amount reported in the AEIS report is the undesignated component, calculated as the difference between the total unreserved fund balance and the designated unreserved fund balance. This balance amount is expressed as a percent of the total budgeted expenditures (for the general fund) for the current year (2007-08) as specified in statute.

A district can have a negative, undesignated, unreserved fund balance when the district's reserved fund balance is greater than the district's total fund balance.

Note that while other finance items are now reported as actual, fund balance information is still expressed as a percent of total budgeted expenditures for the current year as required in statute. (Source: Financial Audit Report, Jan. 2008)

General Fund: This is a governmental fund used for operations of on-going organizations and activities. The amounts reported in this fund classification are reported separately from All Funds. General fund reporting includes fund codes 101-199 and 420. Fund 420, Foundation School Program and Other State Aid, is included in the general fund for charter schools only.

Note that all financial data shown by fund is actual data, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See also Appendix B. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Gold Performance Acknowledgment: The Gold Performance Acknowledgment (GPA) system acknowledges districts and campuses for high performance on indicators other than those used to determine accountability ratings. Beginning with the 2008 ratings cycle, charter operators and alternative education campuses (AECs) evaluated under alternative education accountability (AEA) procedures are eligible to earn GPAs. Acknowledgment is awarded for high performance on:

• Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Completion
• AP/IB Examination Results
• Attendance Rate
• Commended Performance on TAKS: Reading/English Language Arts
• Commended Performance on TAKS: Mathematics
• Commended Performance on TAKS: Writing
• Commended Performance on TAKS: Science
• Commended Performance on TAKS: Social Studies
• Comparable Improvement: Reading/ English Language Arts (campus only)*
• Comparable Improvement: Mathematics (campus only)*
• Recommended High School Program/Distinguished Achievement Program
• SAT/ACT Results (College Admissions Tests)
• TSI - Higher Education Readiness Component: English Language Arts
• TSI - Higher Education Readiness Component: Mathematics
• Comparable Improvement GPA is not applicable for campuses evaluated under AEA procedures.

Schools and districts receive one of three possible categories for each indicator. Acknowledged signifies they met the Gold Performance standard for the indicator; Does Not Qualify signifies that they were evaluated but did not meet the standard for the indicator or that the school or district was Academically Unacceptable or AEA: Academically Unacceptable; Not Applicable signifies there were no data to be evaluated for the indicator, usually due to the grades served by the district or campus. Schools or districts labeled Not Rated are not evaluated for Gold Performance Acknowledgment and are noted as Not Applicable.

Refer to Chapters 5 and 13 in the 2008 Accountability Manual for detailed information on the standards for Gold Performance Acknowledgment.

See also Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Completion, AP/IB Results, Attendance Rate, Comparable Improvement, RHSP/DAP Graduates, SAT/ACT Results, Texas Success Initiative (TSI) - Higher Education Readiness Component, and TAKS.

Graduates (Class of 2007): In the Profile section, this is the total number of graduates (including summer graduates) for the 2006-07 school year, as reported by districts in the fall of 2007. The value includes 12th graders who graduated as well as graduates from other grades. Students in special education who graduate are included in the totals, and are also reported as a separate group. Special education graduates are students who graduated with a special education graduation type code or who received special education services their entire senior year (as determined by attendance data). Counts of students graduating under the recommended high school or distinguished achievement programs are also shown.

Students graduating with the class of 2007 could be coded with one of the following graduation types:

• Minimum High School Program
• Recommended High School Program
• Distinguished Achievement Program
• Special Education student completing an IEP

Counts of graduates are calculated slightly differently for three graduation-related indicators on the Performance section of the AEIS report:

• SAT/ACT results do not indicate whether the examinee is served in special education; therefore, there is no way to know if a student taking the SAT or ACT is served in special education. However, because relatively fewer students served in special education take college admissions tests, only non-special education graduates are included in the denominator.
• The RHSP/DAP (Recommended High School Program/Distinguished Achievement Program) indicator as well as the College-Ready Graduates indicator include all graduates, special education and non-special education, in both the numerator and denominator.

See also College-Ready Graduates, Completion Rate, and RHSP/DAP Graduates. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Instructional Expenditure Ratio (2006-07) (District Profile only): This measure, required by TEC 44.0071, indicates the percentage of the district's total actual expenditures for the 2006-07 fiscal year that were used to fund direct instructional activities. The instructional expenditure ratio is a district-level only measure, and is calculated as follows:

expenditures reported in function codes 11, 12, 13, 31 and object codes 6112 through 6499
divided by
expenditures reported in function codes 11-52, 92,and 95 and object codes 6112 through 6499

Contact the School Financial Audits Division at (512) 463-9095 for further details on this measure. See Appendix B for function and expenditure code labels. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Instructional Staff Percent (District Profile only): This measure, required by TEC 44.0071, indicates the percentage of the district's full-time equivalent employees whose job function was to directly provide classroom instruction to students during the 2007-08 school year. The instructional staff percent is a district-level-only measure, and is calculated as follows.

total number of hours district staff reported under expenditure object codes 6112, 6119, and 6129, and function codes 11, 12, 13, and 31
divided by
total number of hours worked by all district employees

Contact the School Financial Audits Division at (512) 463-9095 for further details about this measure. See Appendix A. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

International Baccalaureate (IB): See AP/IB Results.

Leaver Record: In determining the status of prior year 7th through 12th grade students who are no longer enrolled at a Texas public school, TEA reviews attendance and enrollment records of all districts, the records of Texas graduates for the last several years, and GED certificate records. Districts, for their part, are required to submit a leaver code for all other students. This group of "leavers" includes students such as those who graduated, moved to another state, or country, died, or dropped out. This information is sent to TEA in Submission 1 of the annual PEIMS data collection.

See Appendix I of the 2008 Accountability Manual for detailed information on coding leavers. See also Data Quality. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007; Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public Schools, 2006-07, Texas Education Agency)

Limited English Proficient (LEP): These are students identified as limited English proficient by the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) according to criteria established in the Texas Administrative Code. Not all pupils identified as LEP receive bilingual or English as a second language instruction, although most do. In the Profile section of the reports, the percent of LEP students is calculated by dividing the number of LEP pupils by the total number of students in the school or district.

The LEP column in the Performance section shows the performance of students identified as LEP in the current year only; students who are no longer considered limited English proficient are not included in this column.

See Campus Group and TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Met Standard: This refers to the TAKS passing standard set by the State Board of Education for each TAKS subject and grade. For a detailed explanation, see TAKS Panel Recommendation.

Mobile: This measure, which is part of the TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation section of the AEIS, indicates the percent of student test results not included in the accountability system because the students move to a different school or district between the fall and spring.

Note that this measure is different from Mobility, which is defined below. See also Accountability Subset.

Mobility (Campus Profile only): A student is considered to be mobile if he or she has been in membership at the school for less than 83% of the school year (i.e., has missed six or more weeks at a particular school).

number of mobile students in 2006-07
divided by
number of students who were in membership at any time during the 2006-07 school year

This rate is calculated at the campus level. The mobility rate shown in the Profile section of campus reports under the "district" column is based on the count of mobile students identified at the campus level. That is, the district mobility rate reflects school-to-school mobility, within the same district or from outside the district. See also Campus Group. (Source: PEIMS, June 2007)

n/a: This indicates that data are not available or are not applicable.

Number of Students per Teacher: This shows the total number of students divided by the total teacher FTE count. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Paired Schools: For accountability purposes, schools that reported enrollment but did not have grades in which the state-mandated test was given (e.g. K-2 schools) are paired with schools with which they have a "feeder" relationship to determine accountability ratings. For example, assuming Travis Primary (K-2) feeds students into Navarro Elementary (3-5), the district would pair these two schools for accountability purposes. This means that the TAKS performance of Navarro Elementary is also used for rating Travis Primary and is reported on the AEIS report for Travis Primary.

Panel Recommendation: See TAKS Panel Recommendation.

PBM Special Education Monitoring Results Status: This label appears on the cover of AEIS reports for districts with a special education monitoring status. For a complete explanation of each label, see Appendix G.

Performance of TAKS-M Students (State Performance only): See TAKS-M Met 2008 Standard.

Performance of Mobile Students (State Performance only): This additional report shows the aggregate state-level performance of students who were excluded from the district accountability subset due to mobility across districts between October and the time of testing. It is calculated for each TAKS subject as:

number of mobile students who passed each test
divided by
number of mobile students tested

Mobile student results are shown at www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/state.html. Scroll down to Performance of Mobile Students (past the TAKS indicators) and click on the link.

The report shows performance by subject summed across all grades tested. For purposes of comparison, Performance of Mobile Students is shown for 2008 and 2007. The 2007 results have been recalculated to include performance on grade 8 TAKS science, as well as selected grades and subjects for TAKS (Accommodated).

This indicator is not available at the region, district, or campus level. See also Mobile. (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

Professional Staff: This is a full-time equivalent (FTE) count of teachers, professional support staff, campus administrators, and, on the district profile, central administrators. Staff are grouped according to the PEIMS roles reported. Each type of professional staff is shown as a percentage of the total staff FTE. See also Appendix A. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Progress of Prior Year TAKS Failers (Sum of Grades 4 - 11): This indicator provides two measures that show the progress of students who failed the reading/ELA portion or the mathematics portion of the TAKS in the prior year.

(1) Percent of Failers Passing TAKS. Of the students who failed the TAKS in the prior year, this measure shows the percent that passed the corresponding assessment in the current year.

For 2008, the reported values for reading/ELA and mathematics are calculated as:

number of matched students who failed in 2007 but passed in 2008
divided by
number of matched students who failed in 2007

(2) Average TGI Growth. For students who failed the TAKS in the prior year, this measure shows their average growth (or change) between the prior year and current year.

For 2008, the reported values for reading/ELA and mathematics are calculated as:

sum of individual student TGI values for students who failed in 2007
divided by
total number of students with TGI values who failed in 2007

For 2008, students included in these measures are those who:

• took the spring 2008 TAKS reading/ELA and/or mathematics tests in grades 4-11, including grade 11 TAKS (Accommodated) tests (progress is not calculated for grade 3 test takers since that is their first TAKS test);
• are part of the 2008 Accountability Subset;
• can be matched to the spring 2007 TAKS administration-anywhere in the state-to find their prior year score for reading/ELA and/or mathematics;
• failed the 2007 TAKS administration of reading/ELA and/or mathematics (using the 2007 student-level passing standard).

Reports for both these measures by grade are available for each district and campus on the internet, within the AEIS report that appears on the Division of Performance Reporting's website. To view these reports, access the HTML version of a campus or district report from the AEIS site (www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/). The link below Progress of Prior Year TAKS Failers produces a separate report that provides the progress of prior year failers by grade. See also Texas Growth Index in this Glossary. For a more complete explanation of the Texas Growth Index, see Appendix E in the 2008 Accountability Manual. (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

Recommended High School Program: See RHSP/DAP Graduates.

Retention Rates by Grade: The retention rate, reported in the Profile section, shows the percent of students in Texas public schools who enrolled in the fall of 2007-08 in the same grade as their grade in the last reported six-week period of the prior year (2006-07). It is calculated as follows:

total students not advanced to the next grade
divided by
total students advanced to the next grade + total students not advanced to the next grade

Special education retention rates are calculated and reported separately from the rates of non-special education students because local retention practices differ greatly between these two populations of students.

The AEIS report only shows retention rates for grades K-8. Retention rates for all grades can be found in Grade-Level Retention in Texas Public Schools, 2006-07, available from TEA. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, June 2007)

RHSP/DAP Graduates: This indicator shows the percent of graduates who were reported as having satisfied the course requirements for the Texas State Board of Education Recommended High School Program or Distinguished Achievement Program. It is calculated as follows:

number of graduates reported with graduation codes for
Recommended High School Program or Distinguished Achievement Program
divided by
number of graduates

RHSP graduates are students with type codes of 10, 14, 15, 19, 22, or 25; DAP graduates are students with type codes of 09, 16, 17, 20, 23, or 26. See the PEIMS Data Standards for more information.

Schools and districts may qualify for Gold Performance Acknowledgment based on their RHSP/DAP rate. For a more detailed explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgment, see the 2008 Accountability Manual. See also Graduates. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006)

SAT/ACT Results: These include the College Board's SAT Reasoning Test and ACT, Inc.'s ACT Assessment. Both testing companies annually provide the agency with testing information on the most recent test participation and performance of graduating seniors from all Texas public schools. Only one record is sent per student. If a student takes an ACT or SAT test more than once, the agency receives the record for the most recent examination taken.

Three values are calculated for this indicator:

(1) Tested. This shows the percent of graduates who took either college admissions test:

number of graduates who took either the SAT or the ACT
divided by
number of non-special education graduates

Note that "graduates" in the denominator of equation (1) does not include special education graduates; however, special education graduates who took either the SAT or ACT are included in the numerator. (See Graduates.)

(2) At/Above Criterion. This shows the percent of examinees who scored at or above the criterion score on either test (1110 on the SAT, or 24 on the ACT):

number of examinees who scored at or above criterion
divided by
number of examinees

(3) Mean Score. This shows the average score for the SAT total and the average score for the ACT composite, calculated as follows:

total score (mathematics plus critical reading) for all students who took the SAT
divided by
number of students who took the SAT

and

total composite score for all students who took the ACT
divided by
number of students who took the ACT

Despite the addition of the writing portion of the SAT, the criterion score continues to be based on mathematics and critical reading only.

Schools and districts may qualify for Gold Performance Acknowledgment based on their SAT/ACT performance and participation. For a more detailed explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgment, see the 2008 Accountability Manual. See also Criterion Score. (Sources: The College Board, Aug. 2007, Jan. 2007; ACT, Inc. (ACT) Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006; and PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006)

School Type: For purposes of creating the Campus Groups, schools are placed into one of four classifications based on the lowest and highest grades in which students are enrolled (i.e., in membership) at the school: elementary, middle (including junior high school), secondary, and both elementary/secondary (K-12). Generally speaking, elementary schools are PK-5 or PK-6, middle schools are 6-8, and secondary schools are 9-12. Schools whose grade spans do not exactly match these, are grouped with the school type most similar to their grade span.

SDAA II: The State Developed Alternative Assessment II (SDAA II) was last administered during the 2006-07 school year, and is not shown on the 2007-08 AEIS reports. The assessment was replaced by the TAKS special education assessments. See TAKS Special Education Assessments.

Special Education: This refers to the population served by programs for students with disabilities. Assessment decisions for students in special education programs are made by their Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee. The ARD committee is made up of the parent(s) or guardian, teacher, administrator, and other concerned parties. In the 2007-08 school year, a student in special education may have been administered the TAKS or one of the TAKS special education assessments: TAKS (Accommodated), TAKS-Modified, or TAKS-Alternate. Results from TAKS (Accommodated) for certain grades and subjects are included in the TAKS performance shown on the AEIS reports. Campus and district-level performance results of the TAKS-Modified and TAKS-Alternate are not shown on the 2007-08 AEIS reports.

Other indicators that include the performance of students in special education are: advanced course/dual enrollment completion, attendance rate, annual dropout rates, college-ready graduates, completion rates, RHSP/DAP, TAKS exit-level cumulative pass rate, and the Texas Success Initiative. Information that would allow the separation of performance of special education students on college admissions tests and on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate examinations is not available. Note that in the Profile section of the report, retention rates are shown separately for special education and non-special education students. See TAKS Special Education Assessments and TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006, and TEA Student Assessment Division)

Special Education Compliance Status: See PBM Special Education Monitoring Results Status.

Staff Exclusions: These are counts of individuals who serve public school students, but are not included in the FTE totals for any of the other employee statistics. There are two types of these entries: individuals participating in a shared services arrangement and individuals on contract with the district to provide instructional services. Shared Services Arrangement (SSA) Staff work in schools located in districts other than their employing district, or their assigned organization (in PEIMS) shows a code of 751, indicating that they are employed by the fiscal agent of an SSA. Only the portion of a person's total FTE amount associated with the school in another district (or with the 751 organization code) is counted as SSA. SSA staff are grouped into three categories: Professional Staff (which includes teachers, administrators, and professional support); Educational Aides; and Auxiliary Staff. Note that SSA Auxiliary Staff are identified by the type of fund from which they are paid. Contracted Instructional Staff (District and Campus Profiles) refers to counts of instructors for whom the district has entered into a contractual agreement with some outside organization. Through the contract, the outside organization has committed to supplying instructional staff for the district. They are never employees of the reporting school district. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Standardized Local Tax Base (comptroller valuation) (District Profile only): The Comptroller conducts a study each year that uniformly evaluates the property values within school district boundaries. Locally assessed values may vary from the Comptroller's study values. The values certified by the Comptroller's Property Tax Division (Comptroller Valuation) are standardized in that they are deemed to be comparable across the state. Note that the values shown are final for tax year 2007. This is not the property value used for school funding calculations.

• Value (after exemptions). This refers to the market value of all property in a district, minus certain exemptions and deductions. The value after exemptions reflects deductions for the state-mandated homestead exemptions, the disabled veterans' exemptions, the school tax ceiling for homeowners over age 65 or disabled, and other state-mandated exemptions.
• Value per Pupil. This refers to school district property value, or Standardized Local Tax Base, divided by the total number of students. This per pupil figure is one definition of "wealth." Note that the values shown are final for tax year 2007. At the state level, the per pupil amount is created by dividing by the total number of students in districts with property value. Some districts do not have property value; their students are not included.
• Value by Category. This shows aggregates of individual property tax categories expressed as a percent of the Comptroller's property value before the exemptions are applied. Thus, the sum of the category values will exceed the value used for per pupil calculations. Note that the values shown are final for tax year 2007.
  • Business -
    • real property: commercial and industrial;
    • real and tangible personal property: utilities; and
    • personal property: commercial and industrial.
  • Residential - real property: single-family, residential; multifamily, residential; and inventory.
  • Land - real property: vacant lots and tracts; acreage at market value, and farm and ranch improvements; acreage at productivity value.
  • Oil and Gas - real property: oil, gas, and other minerals.
  • Other - tangible personal property: other; and intangible personal property.

(Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, July 2008)

Student Enrollment by Program: Students are identified as served in programs and/or courses for Special Education, Career and Technical Education, Bilingual/ESL Education, or Gifted and Talented Education. The percentages do not sum to 100, as a student may be enrolled in more than one of these programs. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Student Success Initiative (SSI): In 1999, as part of the mandate for the TAKS tests, the Texas Legislature included new grade advancement testing requirements. For the 2007-08 school year, students in 3rd grade needed to pass the reading portion of the TAKS in order to be promoted to the 4th grade; students in 5th grade needed to pass both the reading and mathematics portions of the TAKS in order to be promoted to 6th grade; and students in 8th grade needed to pass both the reading and mathematics portions of the TAKS in order to be promoted to 9th grade. Students were given three opportunities to pass each required test. In addition to promotion based on passing the test, some students were promoted based on the recommendation of their grade placement committee (GPC). The committee members needed to agree that the student was likely to perform on grade level after receiving accelerated instruction. The AEIS report shows four measures for this indicator:

(1) Students Requiring Accelerated Instruction. For each subject and grade, this shows the percent of students who did not pass the first administration of the TAKS. Students who did not pass the test during the first administration must be provided accelerated instruction in preparation for the second administration:

number of eligible students who did not meet the standard in the first administration
divided by
number of eligible students in the first administration

The number of eligible students is calculated from the test answer documents and includes all students who were tested, students who should have been tested but were absent, and students who were not tested for other reasons. (The count of eligible students does not include students who have a special education or LEP exemption.) Students who were absent during the first administration or were not tested for other reasons are included in the counts of students requiring accelerated instruction.

(2) TAKS Cumulative Met Standard. For each subject and grade, this shows the cumulative (and unduplicated) percent of students who took and passed the tests in the first and second administrations combined:

number of students who passed the test in either of the first two administrations
divided by
cumulative number of students who took the test in either of the first two administrations

The values shown for this measure are the ones used in determining state accountability ratings. In most cases, this value does not match the TAKS performance shown by grade in the first few pages of this AEIS report. The "by grade" results are based on the first administration of each test only.

(3) TAKS Failers Promoted by Grade Placement Committee. This shows the percent of students who failed all attempts to pass but were promoted to the next grade by their grade placement committee:

number of students promoted by their GPC
divided by
cumulative number of students who failed all administrations

Because 2008 is the first year grade 8 students are subject to SSI requirements, this indicator is only available for grades 3 and 5.

(4) TAKS Met Standard (Failed in Previous Year). This presents two calculations for students who failed in 2007.

For those who were promoted, the first measure shows the percentage who passed the TAKS in 2008. Using grade 5 reading as an example, the calculation is as follows:

number of students promoted by their GPC who passed grade 6 TAKS reading in 2008
divided by
number of students who were promoted by their GPC and took grade 6 TAKS reading

For those who were retained, the second measure shows the percentage who passed the TAKS in 2008. Using grade 5 reading as an example, the calculation is as follows:

number of students retained who passed grade 5 TAKS reading in 2008
divided by
number of students retained and took grade 5 TAKS reading in 2008

Because 2008 is the first year grade 8 students are subject to SSI requirements, this indicator is only available for grades 3 and 5.

The values include results from both the English and Spanish versions of the TAKS.

Note that the highest grade served in many elementary schools is grade 5. In these cases, only the performance of 5th graders who were retained will be reported. The performance of the students promoted to 6th grade will appear in the middle school report.

Some schools and districts may not have any prior year failers. In these cases, no information is printed for this measure.

For more information, see TEA's Student Assessment Division SSI site at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/resources/ssi/index.html. (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

Students by Grade: Percentages are calculated by dividing the number of students in each grade by the total number of students. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Students with Disciplinary Placements: Counts and percents of students placed in alternative education programs under Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code (Discipline; Law and Order) are shown (for the 2006-07 school year) in the AEIS reports. Disciplinary placement counts are obtained from PEIMS records. Districts report the disciplinary actions taken toward students who are removed from the classroom for at least one day. Although students can have multiple removals throughout the year, this measure counts students only once and includes only those whose removal results in a placement in a disciplinary alternative education program or juvenile justice alternative education program. It is calculated as follows:

number of students with one or more disciplinary placements
divided by
number of students who were in attendance at any time during the school year

The following 19 reason codes on the PEIMS 425 record are included as disciplinary placements: 02, 03, 04, 07, 08, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, and 61. (Source: PEIMS, June 2007)

TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills): The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is a comprehensive testing program for public school students in grades 3-11. The TAKS is designed to measure to what extent a student has learned, understood, and is able to apply the concepts and skills expected at each tested grade level.

The grades and subjects shown on the AEIS reports are:

• Grade 3 - reading (first administration only) and mathematics
• Grade 4 - reading, mathematics, and writing
• Grade 5 - reading (first administration only), mathematics (first administration only), and science
• Grade 6 - reading and mathematics
• Grade 7 - reading, mathematics, and writing
• Grade 8 - reading (first administration only), mathematics (first administration only), science, and social studies
• Grade 9 - reading and mathematics
• Grade 10 - English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies
• Grade 11 - English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. These assessments are known as the exit-level tests; students are required to pass them in order to qualify for graduation from high school.

All TAKS tests in grades 3 through 6 are available in either English or Spanish. The AEIS reports show performance on these separately.

Each one of these tests is linked directly to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum. The TEKS is the state-mandated curriculum for Texas public school students. For more information on TEKS, see the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/teks/.

For 2007-08, the AEIS report shows the percent passing TAKS in several ways:

• TAKS Met 2008 Standard, By Grade. The first indicator shown on the report is percent passing TAKS by grade for each subject area and for all tests taken. Please note the following:
  • Student Success Initiative. Only performance from the first administration of grade 3, 5, and 8 reading and grade 5 and 8 mathematics is shown by grade. Results that include the second administration can be found on the AEIS reports under Student Success Initiative: TAKS Cumulative Met Standard.
  • TAKS (Accommodated). Performance on the TAKS (Accommodated) is included in the following subjects and grades: English language arts for grade 11; mathematics for grade 11; science for grades 5, 8, 10, and 11; social studies for grades 8, 10, and 11. Note that prior year performance (2007) has been recomputed to include TAKS (Accommodated) performance in these grades and subjects.
  • Grade 8 Science. The passing standard for grade 8 science is now at panel recommendation (scale score of 2100). Note that prior year performance (2007) has been recomputed to show performance at panel recommendation.
  • Test Administrations Included. The results shown are for the first administration in the spring for grades 3-10. Students in grade 11 usually take the exit-level test for the first time in the spring semester of their junior year. However, under certain circumstances they may take the test for the first time in the previous October. The performance of these early testers is included in the results shown on the AEIS if they took and passed all four tests.
  • All Tests Taken. As described above, the number of tests given varies by grade. This means that the number of tests included in "All Tests Taken" varies by grade. Footnotes or labels on the reports indicate when "All Tests Taken" includes TAKS (Accommodated) results.
• Sum of All Grades Tested. Three indicators are shown which sum TAKS results (by subject) across grades.
  • TAKS Met 2008 Standard (Sum of All Grades Tested, INCLUDES SELECTED TAKS (Accommodated)). This is the accountability indicator used for campuses and districts evaluated under standard procedures. It includes:
    • The cumulative passing rate from the first and second administrations for grade 3 reading and grade 5 and 8 reading and mathematics;
    • Performance on the TAKS (Accommodated) assessments for ELA (grade 11); mathematics (grade 11); science (grades 5, 8, 10, and 11); and social studies (grades 8, 10, and 11).
    • Performance on all TAKS Spanish versions;
  • TAKS Met 2008 Standard (Sum of All Grades Tested, INCLUDES ALL TAKS (Accommodated)) (2010 Preview). This measure is provided as a preview of performance in 2010, which will include performance on all TAKS (Accommodated) assessments. The additional TAKS (Accommodated) grades and subjects that will be included are reading and mathematics for grades 3-10 and writing in grades 4 and 7.
  • TAKS Commended Performance (Sum of All Grades Tested), INCLUDES SELECTED TAKS (Accommodated). This measure refers to the highest performance level on the TAKS, a scale score of 2400, as set by the State Board of Education. Students who achieve Commended Performance have shown a thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills at their grade level. Schools and districts may qualify for Gold Performance Acknowledgment based on their TAKS Commended Performance on reading/ELA, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science. Because the accountability system now includes grade 8 science and selected TAKS (Accommodated) results, the commended performance evaluated for GPA also includes these results. For a more detailed explanation of Gold Performance Acknowledgment, see chapter 5 of the 2008 Accountability Manual.

Other important information:

• Sum of all grades tested. This refers to the grades tested at the particular school. For example, the percent passing reading in an elementary school with a grade span of K-5 is calculated as follows:

number of students who passed the reading test in grades 3, 4, & 5
divided by
number of students who took the reading test in grades 3, 4, & 5

• Rounding of Met Standard Percent. TAKS performance on the AEIS is rounded to whole numbers. For example, 49.877% is rounded to 50%; 79.4999% is rounded to 79%; and 89.5% is rounded to 90%.
• Masking for Very High and Very Low Performance. Since 2004, more stringent masking rules have applied to results for the TAKS. In cases where performance is at or near 100%, the value is shown as ">99%." In cases where performance is at or near 0%, the value is shown as "<1%." It is necessary to mask data that potentially reveals the performance of every student in order to be in compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Accountability Subset. Only test takers who were enrolled on the last Friday in the previous October are included in the calculations shown on the AEIS reports. This is referred to as the "October subset" or the Accountability Subset. For the district, a student who moved into the district after October 26, 2007 would not have his performance included at the district level. At the campus level, a student who changed to a different campus within the same district after October 26, 2007 would not have his performance included at that school, though it would be included at the district level. See Accountability Subset for more information.
• All Tests Taken. Although All Tests Taken is not a measure evaluated for accountability ratings purposes, it is shown on the AEIS report, both "by grade" and "summed across grades." This value shows the percent of students who passed every test they took. For example, a group of 100 students tested in reading and mathematics at the 3rd grade might have the following results: 90 students passed reading and 80 students passed mathematics. However, only 75 of those students passed BOTH reading and mathematics. For this reason, while the percent passing reading would be 90%, and the percent passing mathematics would be 80%, the percent passing All Tests Taken would be only 75%, not an average of 80% and 90%. All Tests Taken is always equal to or less than the percent of students who passed any of the individual subject areas. The more tests taken and considered for this measure, the more likely the All Tests Taken value will be lower than any of the individual subject areas.

See also Appendix F and TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation. (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

TAKS-Alt: See TAKS Special Education Assessments.

TAKS Commended Performance: See TAKS.

TAKS Exit-level Cumulative Pass Rate (District Performance only): The TAKS cumulative pass rate shows the percent of students who first took the TAKS exit-level test in spring 2007, and eventually passed all TAKS tests taken (in the same district) by spring 2008. (Students who failed the first time had four additional opportunities to retake test(s) before their graduation date.) This measure is intended to show the relative success of districts in their efforts to help all their students pass the exit-level TAKS, which is a requirement for graduation from Texas public schools.

Test takers included in the TAKS Exit-level Cumulative Pass Rate for the class of 2008:

• Any student who took the test for the first time in spring 2007.
• All special education students who took the test.
• All above students, whether or not they were in the Accountability Subset in spring 2007.

Test takers NOT included in the TAKS Exit-level Cumulative Pass Rate:

• Students who first took the exit-level test in District A, did not pass all sections and then moved to District B and retested. These students are taken out of both the numerator and denominator, whether or not they eventually passed all tests taken.
• Students who moved out of state, left the country, or died before passing all tests taken. These students are in the denominator but not the numerator. They cannot be removed because they are not specifically identified in the data.
• Students who dropped out of school before passing all tests taken are in the denominator but not the numerator.
• Students who moved into the state after the spring of 2007 are not included, even if they took the TAKS and graduated with the class of 2008.

(Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

TAKS-M Met 2008 Standard (State Performance only): This additional report shows the aggregate state-level performance of students who took the TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M) assessment in the spring of 2008. For the subject areas of reading/ELA, mathematics, and science, the percent meeting the standard is shown by subject, summed across all grades tested:

number of students who passed TAKS-M [subject] test in grades 3-8, & 10
divided by
number of students who took the TAKS-M [subject] test in grades 3-8, & 10

The TAKS-M test was administered for the first time in 2008, in reading/ELA and mathematics to students in grades 3 through 8 and 10, and in TAKS-M science in grades 5, 8, and 10.

To see the TAKS-M results, access the HTML version of the 2007-08 AEIS state report at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2008/state.html, and scroll to Performance of TAKS-M Students (past the TAKS grade 11 indicator) and click on the link.

This indicator is not available at the region, district, or campus level, since only selected grades and subjects were tested in 2008. This indicator will be shown at the region, district, and campus level in the 2008-09 AEIS reports, when all grades and subjects are assessed. See also TAKS Special Education Assessments. (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

TAKS Met 2008 Standard: This refers to the current TAKS passing standard. For a detailed explanation, see TAKS Panel Recommendation below. See also Appendix F.

TAKS Panel Recommendation: This refers to the final phased-in passing standard set by the SBOE for the TAKS. In November 2002, the State Board of Education adopted two performance standards for the TAKS: Met Standard (i.e. passing) and Commended Performance (i.e. high performance). These standards were adopted based on recommendations from educators and citizens who served on TAKS standard-setting panels. Because the TAKS is more challenging than its predecessor, the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), the Board agreed to a transition plan to phase in Met Standard over several years. (Commended Performance had no phase-in period.)

For the 2008, the passing standards for all TAKS tests was panel recommendation. See also TAKS and Appendix F.

TAKS Passing Standard: See TAKS Panel Recommendation.

TAKS Progress Measure (AEA Campus and AEA Charter Operator Performance only): This measure is used in determining accountability ratings under alternative education accountability (AEA) procedures. The TAKS Progress Measure is based on tests taken. It sums performance results across grades 3 though 12 and across all subjects. It is calculated as follows:

number of TAKS tests that meet the standard or have a TGI ≥ 0 and
number of TAKS exit-level retests that meet the standard
divided by
number of TAKS tests taken and
number of TAKS exit-level retests that meet the standard

This measure is only shown on the AEIS reports for campuses and charter operators evaluated under the AEA procedures in 2008. Prior year results are provided regardless of whether the campus or charter operator was evaluated under AEA procedures in the prior year.

• AEA Campus. On reports for registered alternative education campuses, the value shown for the Campus Group column is a dash (-); the value for the District column is an asterisk (*) unless the campus is run by an AEA charter operator. The State column shows aggregates of the AEA campuses only.
• AEA Charter Operator. On reports for AEA charter operators, the value shown for the State and Region columns show aggregates of the AEA campuses only.

For more information on this measure, see Chapter 10 in the 2008 Accountability Manual.

TAKS Special Education Assessments:  For students receiving special education services, the ARD committee determines which TAKS assessment is appropriate for each student based on his/her individual needs. TAKS, the general assessment option that includes TAKS (Accommodated) for students receiving special education services, is administered to the majority of students in Texas. For those students who cannot be assessed with TAKS and/or TAKS (Accommodated), the TAKS-M and TAKS-Alt are the alternate assessments that can be given to students who meet specific participation requirements.

• TAKS (Accommodated). This is the general assessment with certain format accommodations (e.g., larger font, fewer items per page). It also contains no embedded field-test items. As of 2007-08, this assessment is now administered in all grades and subjects. However, only performance on the assessments used in determining the 2008 accountability ratings are included in the 2007-08 AEIS reports: ELA (grade 11); mathematics (grade 11); science (grades 5, 8, 10, and 11); and social studies (grades 8, 10, and 11). TAKS (Accommodated) performance is not shown separately, but is included in the TAKS indicators. Footnotes and labels on the reports indicate when these results are included. Note that, in order to allow for comparison, prior year performance (2007) has been recomputed to also include performance on TAKS (Accommodated).
• TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M). This alternate assessment is based on modified academic achievement standards and is designed for students served by special education who meet participation requirements. TAKS-M results at the state-level are available on the 2007-08 AEIS state report. See TAKS-M Met 2008 Standard for details. The TAKS-M results at the campus, district, and region-level are expected to be reported in AEIS for the first time in 2008-09; however, the earliest possible use for the TAKS-M results in state accountability is in 2011. TAKS-M participation is shown in the participation section of the report.
• TAKS-Alternate (TAKS-Alt). This alternate assessment is based on alternate academic standards and is designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities. Students served in special education programs who met participation requirements were administered the TAKS-Alt in spring 2008. These test results are not reported on the 2007-08 AEIS. However, participation in the test is shown in the TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation section of the reports. The TAKS-Alt results are expected to be reported in AEIS for the first time in 2008-09; however, the earliest possible use for the TAKS-Alt results in state accountability is in 2011.

For more information on these assessments see the Student Assessment Division website, at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/.

TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation: This indicator presents the percent of students tested and not tested on each state assessment, as well as the percent of students included and excluded in determining accountability ratings. For 2008, results from the TAKS and selected TAKS (Accommodated) tests were used in determining accountability ratings.

There are two reasons for excluding test results from accountability:

• Mobile. Students may take the TAKS or TAKS (Accommodated) but be excluded from the results reported because they were not enrolled in the same district or campus by the last Friday in the previous October (shown as Mobile).
• Non-Acct Test. Performance on excluded TAKS (Accommodated) tests, TAKS-M, and TAKS-Alt is not used in determining accountability ratings.

Other students are not tested. Reasons for not testing are as follows:

• Absent. Students may have been absent during every test administration.
• LEP Exempt. Students may have received a LEP (Limited English Proficient) exemption for every test and taken only the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) test.
• Other. Tests may not be scored due to illness during testing or other test administration irregularities.

The percentages of students participating and not participating in testing are based as much as possible on the total number of students enrolled at the time of testing. Districts are required to submit a TAKS answer document for every student enrolled in grades 3 through 11. The methodology used to create TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation eliminates, as much as possible, duplicate counts of students resulting from multiple answer documents. Appendix E provides a description for each component of TAKS/TAKS (Accommodated)/TAKS-M/TAKS-Alt Participation. (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

Teachers by Ethnicity and Sex: These are counts of teacher FTEs by the major ethnic groups and by sex. Counts are also expressed as a percent of the total teacher FTEs. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Teachers by Highest Degree Held (District Profile only): This shows the distribution of degrees attained by teachers in the district. The FTE counts of teachers with no degree, bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees are expressed as a percent of the total teacher FTEs. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Teachers by Program (population served): Teacher FTE counts are categorized by the type of student populations served. Regular education, special education, compensatory education, career and technical education, bilingual/ESL education, gifted and talented education, and miscellaneous other populations served are shown. Teacher FTE values are allocated across population types for teachers who serve multiple population types. Percentages are expressed as a percent of total teacher FTEs. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Teachers by Years of Experience (District Profile only): This is the FTE count of teachers with years of professional experience that fall into the ranges shown. Experience in these categories is the total years of experience for the individual, not years of experience in the reporting district or campus. Teacher counts within each range of experience are expressed as a percent of total teacher FTEs. A beginning teacher is a teacher reported with zero years of experience. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Texas Growth Index (TGI): The Texas Growth Index (TGI) is an estimate of a student's academic growth on the TAKS tests over two consecutive years (in consecutive grades). For the state accountability system, it is used to calculate Comparable Improvement in reading/ELA and mathematics for Gold Performance Acknowledgments, and to calculate the TAKS Progress Indicator under the alternative education accountability procedures. Average TGI is also one of the measures reported for prior year TAKS failers.

A TGI of zero means that the year-to-year change in average scale score is equal to the average predicted changes as calculated in the 2003 to 2004 base comparison years. A positive TGI means the group demonstrated growth that is larger than the expected growth for that group. A negative TGI indicates the group grew less than expected. Note that TAKS (Accommodated) tests have been included in determining TGI, specifically for 11th grade ELA and mathematics tests, where appropriate.

For a detailed explanation of how TGI is determined and used, refer to Appendix E of the 2008 Accountability Manual.

Texas Success Initiative (TSI) - Higher Education Readiness Component: The Texas Success Initiative (TSI) is a program designed to improve student success in college. It requires students to be assessed in reading, writing and mathematics skills prior to enrolling in college, and to be advised based on the results of that assessment.

Students may be exempted from taking a test for the Texas Success Initiative if they have a high enough score on their exit-level TAKS tests for mathematics and English language arts, as set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The qualifying scores are scale scores of 2200 on their TAKS mathematics and English language arts with a written composition score of 3 or higher on the writing component. This indicator shows the percent of students who achieved this level of proficiency by subject (English language arts and mathematics) for 2008 and 2007. Results on the TSI - Higher Education Readiness Component were evaluated for GPA in the state accountability system.

For 2008, performance on exit-level TAKS (Accommodated) tests was included in determining TSI. To allow for comparison, prior year performance (2007) has been recomputed to also include performance on TAKS (Accommodated). This indicator is subject to accountability subset rules. For more detailed information, see Chapter 5 of the 2008 Accountability Manual. (Source: Division of Student Assessment)

Total Expenditures by Object (2006-07) (District Profile only): Total actual expenditures are grouped by object of expense. Total actual expenditures for groups of object categories are expressed as a percentage of total expenditures. The values in the Per Student column show actual expenditure object categories divided by the total number of 2006-07 students in membership. Note that the number shown is not the amount actually spent on each and every student, but rather a per-student average of the total. Object codes appear in parentheses.

• Payroll Costs - gross salaries or wages and benefit costs for all employees (6100);
• Other Operating Costs - services rendered to school districts by firms, individuals and other organizations; supplies and materials including fuel for vehicles; other reading materials (not including the cost of state-adopted textbooks); food service supplies; and other expenses necessary for the operation of the school district (6200-6400).
• Debt Service - all expenditures for debt service including the retirement of debt and bond principal, and all interest expenses (6500); and
• Capital Outlay - expenditures for fixed assets, such as land, buildings, and equipment (6600).

Note this item is reported as actual expenditures, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See also Appendix B. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Total Operating Expenditures by Function (2006-07): Actual total operating expenditures are grouped by function of expense. Actual operating expenditures for groups of function categories are expressed as a percent of actual total operating expenditures. The values in the Per Student column show actual operating expenditures by function divided by the total number of 2006-07 students in membership. Per student operating expenditures are shown for total operating expenditures and for various groupings of operating categories. Note that the number shown is not the amount actually spent on each and every student, but rather a per-student average of the total.

When comparing averages for school-level expenditures note that the state and district averages include all types of schools. For example, a high school's per student expenditure may not be comparable to the state average because the state value includes elementary and middle schools, which typically have lower per student expenditures than high schools. Other variables that may affect comparisons are the experience level of teachers and administrators, the types of instructional programs offered, and the student characteristics. Function codes appear in parentheses.

• Instruction - all activities dealing directly with the interaction between teachers and students, including instruction aided with computers (11); and, expenditures to provide resources for Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs (95).
• Instructional-Related Services - expenditures for educational resources and media, such as resource centers and libraries (12); and, curriculum development and instructional staff development (13).
• Instructional Leadership - managing, directing, supervising, and providing leadership for staff who provide instructional services (21).
• School Leadership - directing and managing a school (23).
• Support Services - Student - guidance, counseling, and evaluation services (31); social work services (32); and, health services (33).
• Student Transportation (District Profile only) - transporting students to and from school (34).
• Food Services - food service operation, including cost of food and labor (35).
• Cocurricular Activities - school-sponsored activities during or after the school day that are not essential to the delivery of instructional services (36).
• Central Administration (District Profile only) - managing or governing the school district as an overall entity (41); costs associated with the purchase or sale of attendance credits either from the state or from other school district(s) (92); and for Charter Schools only, fund raising (81).
• Plant Maintenance and Operations - keeping the physical plant and grounds in effective working condition (51).
• Security and Monitoring Services - keeping student and staff surroundings safe (52).
• Data Processing Services - data processing services, whether in-house or contracted (53).
• Other Campus Costs - (Campus Profile only) combines functions 35, 36, 51, 52, 53 above.

Note this item is reported as actual expenditures, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See also Appendix B. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Total Operating Expenditures by Program (2006-07): Actual total operating expenditures are grouped by program of expense. Actual operating expenditures for groups of program categories are expressed as a percent of actual total operating expenditures. The values in the Per Student column show actual total operating expenditures divided by the total number of 2006-07 students in membership. Per student operating expenditures are shown for total operating expenditures by program for various groupings of operating categories. Note that the number shown is not the amount actually spent on each and every student; it is a per-student average of the total. Program codes appear in parentheses. The sum of operating expenditures by program area is less than total operating expenditures by function because a significant portion of expenditures have no program area designated and are reported as "99" meaning "undistributed." These are not included in any of the program categories shown or in the total operating expenditure amount by program. Also, functions included differ between the two breakdowns (by program versus by function).

• Regular - costs to provide the basic services for education/instruction to students not in special education (11).
• Gifted & Talented Education - the cost to assess students for program placement and provide instructional services beyond the basic educational program, designed to meet the needs of students in gifted and talented programs (21).
• Career & Technology Education - the cost to evaluate, place and provide educational and/or other services to prepare students for gainful employment, advanced technical training or homemaking. This may include apprenticeship and job training activities (22).
• Special Education - services to students with disabilities. The costs incurred to evaluate, place and provide educational and/or other services to students who have Individual Educational Plans (IEP) approved by Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committees. These plans are based on students' abilities and/or learning needs (23).
• Accelerated Education - the cost to use instructional strategies in accordance with campus/district improvement plans to provide services in addition to those allocated for basic services for instruction, thereby increasing the amount and quality of instructional time for students at risk of dropping out of school and the costs incurred to provide services in support of Title I, Part A schoolwide campuses with at least 40% educationally disadvantaged students. (24, 30).
• Bilingual/ESL Education - cost to evaluate, place and provide educational and/or other services that are intended to make the students proficient in the English language, primary language literacy, composition and academic language related to required courses (25).
• Other - costs incurred to provide services to students who are separated from the regular classroom to a nondisciplinary or disciplinary alternative education program (26, 28, 29).
• Athletics/Related Activities (District Profile only) - costs incurred to provide for participation in competitive athletic activities, including coaching costs as well as for sponsors of drill team, cheerleaders, pep squad or other organized activity to support athletics excluding band (91).

Note this item is reported as actual operating expenditures by program, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See Appendix B for details. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Total Revenues by Source (2006-07) (District Profile only): Actual total revenues are grouped by revenue source. Actual revenues for groups of object categories are expressed as a percent of total revenue. The values in the Per Student column show actual total revenues divided by the total number of students in membership during the 2006-07 school year. Per-student revenues are shown for total revenues by source for various groupings of revenue categories. Note that the number shown is not the amount actually received for each and every student, but rather a per-student average of the total.

The amounts appearing as revenue in any of the categories shown are the amounts that were reported by districts for the general fund and all funds. Object codes appear in parentheses.

• Local Tax - district income from local real and personal property taxes (objects 5710-5719, less functions 91 & 96 expenditures);
• Other Local and Intermediate - revenue for services to other districts, tuition and fees from students, transfers from within the state, revenue from cocurricular and enterprising activities, revenues from intermediate sources (county), and all other local sources (objects 5720-5769);
• State - per capita and foundation program entitlements, revenue from other state-funded programs, and revenue from other state agencies. State revenue also includes Teacher Retirement System benefits paid by the State of Texas on behalf of employees in the district (object 5800 series); and
• Federal - revenue received by the district directly from the federal government or distributed by the TEA or other state entities for programs such as career and technology education, programs for educationally disadvantaged children (Education Consolidation and Improvement Act, and Elementary and Secondary Education Act), food service programs, and other federal programs (object 5900 series).

Note this item is reported as actual revenues, not budgeted. Accordingly, the information is from the prior year (2006-07). See Appendix B for details. (Source: PEIMS, March 2008)

Total Staff: Total staff includes professional staff (teachers, professional support, administrators), educational aides, and (on the district profile) auxiliary staff. Minority staff is the sum of the FTE counts for all non-white staff groups (African American, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American). This FTE count is expressed as a percent of the total staff FTE. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Total Students: This is the total number of public school students who were reported in membership on October 26, 2007, at any grade, from early childhood education through grade 12. Membership is a slightly different number from enrollment, because it does not include those students who are served in the district for less than two hours per day. For example, the count of Total Students excludes students who attend a nonpublic school but receive some services, such as speech therapy-for less than two hours per day-from their local public school district. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007)

Turnover Rate for Teachers (District Profile only): This percent shows the total FTE count of teachers from the fall of 2006-07 who were subsequently not employed in the district in the fall of 2007-08, divided by the total teacher FTE count for the fall of 2006-07. Social security numbers for teachers employed in the district in the fall of 2006-07were checked to verify their employment status in the same district in the fall of 2007-08. Staff who remained employed in the district but not as teachers were also counted toward teacher turnover. (Source: PEIMS, Oct. 2007, Oct. 2006)

Value by Category: See Standardized Local Tax Base (comptroller valuation).

Who to Call

Information about the calculation of all Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) data elements is provided in this Glossary. Information on the calculation of state accountability ratings is available in the 2008 Accountability Manual. If, after reading these documents, you have questions about the calculation of AEIS indicators or accountability ratings, contact Performance Reporting at (512) 463-9704.

Questions related to programs and policies for the following subjects should be directed to the contacts listed below. All telephone numbers are in the (512) area code.

Information on the Internet: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport

Appendix A

PEIMS Role Identifications (In Alphabetical Order by Label)

* Administrators reported with these roles are categorized as central office or campus, depending on the organization ID reported for them.

Appendix B

Financial Accounting Codes for Revenue and Expenditure Items
 (In Alphabetical Order by Label)

*   Funds – The general fund includes fund codes 101-199. Fund code 420 is also included in the general fund for charter schools only. All funds include the general fund plus fund codes 200/300/400 series, 599, 601, 699, and 701.
**   Indicates the line item appears on the Campus Profile as well as District Profile. All line items not marked appear only on the District Profile.
***   Indicates the line item appears on the Campus Profile only.
****   At the campus level, only functions 11-13, 21, 23, 31-33, and 95 are included in expenditures by program area.
§      Excludes Intergovernmental Charges (function 90 series) except functions 92 & 95.
§§      Athletics/Related Activities is not included at the campus level.
+  Functions 91 and 96 represent tuition transfers for grades not offered, not “Equity Transfers.”
++  Functions 91 and 96 represent the expenditure amount reported for the cost of reducing property wealth to the required equalized wealth level and payments to charter schools, respectively.
+++ The 6400 object codes include: 6629, 6631, 6639, 6649, and 6659 which is only applicable to charter schools excluding open enrollment college and university charters. Note that these object codes are not included in the 6600 code series.

See the Financial Resource Guide for explanations of the fund, function, object, and program codes.

Appendix C

Advanced Academic Courses

2007-08 Academic Excellence Indicator System

English Language Arts

A3220100	English Language and Composition
A3220200	English Literature and Composition
A3220300	International English Language
I3220300	English III
I3220400	English IV
03221100	Research/Technical Writing
03221200	Creative/Imaginative Writing
03221500	Literary Genres
03221600	Humanities
03221800	Independent Study in English
03231000	Independent Study in Journalism
03231902	Advanced Broadcast Journalism III
03240400	Oral Interpretation III
03240800	Debate III
03241100	Public Speaking III
03241200	Independent Study in Speech

Mathematics

A3100101	Calculus AB
A3100102	Calculus BC
A3100200	AP Statistics
I3100100	Mathematical Studies Standard
I3100200	Mathematical Standard Level
I3100300	Mathematics Higher Level
I3100400	Further Mathematics Standard
03101100	Pre-Calculus
03102500	Independent Study in Mathematics (1st time)
03102501	Independent Study in Mathematics (2nd time)

Computer Science

A3580100	Computer Science I
A3580200	Computer Science II
I3580200	Computer Science I
I3580300	Computer Science II
I3580400	Informational Technology in a Global Society
03580200	Computer Science I
03580300	Computer Science II

Science

A3010200	Biology
A3020000	Environmental Science
A3040000	Chemistry
A3050001	Physics B
A3050002	Physics C
I3010200	Biology
I3010201	Biology II
I3020000	Environmental Systems
I3040001	Chemistry I
I3040002	Chemistry II
I3050001	Physics I
I3050002	Physics II

Social Studies/History

A3310100	Microeconomics
A3310200	Macroeconomics
A3330100	United States Government and Politics
A3330200	Comparative Government and Politics
A3340100	United States History
A3340200	European History
A3350100	Psychology
A3360100	Human Geography
A3370100	World History
I3301100	History, Standard Level
I3301200	History: Africa, Higher Level
I3301300	History: Americas, Higher Level
I3301400	History: East and Southeast Asia, Higher Level
I3301500	History: Europe, Higher Level
I3302100	Geography, Standard Level
I3302200	Geography, Higher Level
I3303100	Economics, Standard Level
I3303200	Economics, Higher Level
I3303300	Business and Management I (IBBMT1)
I3303400	Business and Management II (IBBMT2)
I3304100	Psychology, Standard Level
I3304200	Psychology, Higher Level
I3366010	Philosophy
I3000100	Theory of Knowledge
03310301	Economics Advanced Studies
03380001	Social Studies Advanced Studies

Fine Arts

A3150200	Music Theory
A3500100	History Of Art
A3500300	Art/Drawing
A3500400	Art/Two-Dimensional Design Portfolio
A3500500	Art/Three-Dimensional Design Portfolio
I3250200	Music SL
I3250300	Music HL
I3600100	Art/Design HL
I3600200	Art/Design SL-A
I3600300	Art/Design SL-B
I3750200	Theatre Arts SL
I3750300	Theatre Arts HL
M1170158	Dance Technology I
M1170159	Dance Technology II
M1170160	Dance Choreography I
M1170161	Dance Choreography II
M1170162	Dance Choreography III
03150400	Music IV Band
03150800	Music IV Orchestra
03151200	Music IV Choir
03151600	Music IV Jazz Band
03152000	Music IV Instrumental Ensemble
03152400	Music IV Vocal Ensemble
03250400	Theatre Arts IV
03251000	Theatre Production IV
03251200	Technical Theatre IV
03502300	Art IV Drawing
03502400	Art IV Painting
03502500	Art IV Printmaking
03502600	Art IV Fibers
03502700	Art IV Ceramics
03502800	Art IV Sculpture
03502900	Art IV Jewelry
03503100	Art IV Photography
03503200	Art IV Graphic Design
03503500	Art IV Electronic Media
03830400	Dance IV

Advanced Languages (Modern or Classical)

A3120400	Japanese IV
A3400400	Italian IV
A3410100	French IV Language
A3410200	French V Literature
A3420100	German IV Language
A3430100	Latin IV (Vergil)
A3430200	Latin V (Latin Literature)
A3440100	Spanish IV Language
A3440200	Spanish V Literature
A3450400	Russian IV
A3490400	Chinese IV
I3120400	Japanese IV
I3120500	Japanese V
I3410400	French IV
I3410500	French V
I3420400	German IV
I3420500	German V
I3430400	Latin IV
I3430500	Latin V
I3440400	Spanish IV
I3440500	Spanish V
I3450400	Russian IV
I3450500	Russian V
I3480400	Hebrew IV
I3480500	Hebrew V
I3490400	Chinese IV
I3490500	Chinese V
I3520400	Hindi IV
I3520500	Hindi V
I3996000	Other Foreign Language IV
I3996100	Other Foreign Language V
03110400	Arabic IV
03110500	Arabic V
03110600	Arabic VI
03110700	Arabic VII
03120400	Japanese IV
03120500	Japanese V
03120600	Japanese VI
03120700	Japanese VII
03400400	Italian IV
03400500	Italian V
03400600	Italian VI
03400700	Italian VII
03410400	French IV
03410500	French V
03410600	French VI
03410700	French VII
03420400	German IV
03420500	German V
03420600	German VI
03420700	German VII
03430400	Latin IV
03430500	Latin V
03430600	Latin VI
03430700	Latin VII
03440400	Spanish IV
03440440	Spanish IV For Span Speakers
03440500	Spanish V
03440550	Spanish V For Span Speakers
03440600	Spanish VI
03440660	Spanish VI For Span Speakers
03440700	Spanish VII
03440770	Spanish VII For Span Speakers
03450400	Russian IV
03450500	Russian V
03450600	Russian VI
03450700	Russian VII
03460400	Czech IV
03460500	Czech V
03460600	Czech VI
03460700	Czech VII
03470400	Portuguese IV
03470500	Portuguese V
03470600	Portuguese VI
03470700	Portuguese VII
03480400	Hebrew IV
03480500	Hebrew V
03480600	Hebrew VI
03480700	Hebrew VII
03490400	Chinese IV
03490500	Chinese V
03490600	Chinese VI
03490700	Chinese VII
03510400	Vietnamese IV
03510500	Vietnamese V
03510600	Vietnamese VI
03510700	Vietnamese VII
03520400	Hindi IV
03520500	Hindi V
03520600	Hindi VI
03520700	Hindi VII
03980400	American Sign Language IV
03980500	American Sign Language V
03980600	American Sign Language VI
03980700	American Sign Language VII
03996000	Other Foreign Language IV
03996100	Other Foreign Language V
03996200	Other Foreign Language VI
03996300	Other Foreign Language VII

• All courses shown were for the 2006-07 school year.
• An “A” prefix indicates a College Board Advanced Placement course.
• An “I” prefix indicates an International Baccalaureate course.
• Dual Enrollment courses are not specifically shown on this list.

Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

TAKS Raw Scores for Spring 2008 Tests

Spring 2008 TAKS Reading (English) Performance Standards

Spring 2008 TAKS Reading (Spanish) Performance Standards

Spring 2008 TAKS English Language Arts Performance Standards²

Spring 2008 TAKS Mathematics (English) Performance Standards

Spring 2008 TAKS Mathematics (Spanish) Performance Standards

Spring 2008 TAKS Writing (Spanish) Performance Standards³

Spring 2008 TAKS Writing (English) Performance Standards³

Spring 2008 TAKS Social Studies Performance Standards

Spring 2008 TAKS Science (English) Performance Standards

Spring 2008 TAKS Science (Spanish) Performance Standards

Footnotes:

1. March 2008 (first administration) Grades 3, 5 and 8 Reading TAKS standards.
2. An essay rating of 2 or higher is required for Met Standard on the English Language Arts tests.
3. An essay rating of 2 or higher is required for Met Standard and an essay rating of 3 or higher is required for Commended Performance on the grades 4 and 7 writing tests.

The numbers and percents shown in Appendix F are based on the first administration of the spring 2008 TAKS test. It should not be used to anticipate the exact number and percent correct required to achieve Met Standard or Commended Performance levels on future test administrations. This is because the numbers may differ slightly from those shown above to ensure that equivalent standards are maintained for each TAKS administration.

Appendix G

PBM Special Education Monitoring Results Status

The system of special education monitoring is aligned with other PBM activities through the use of graduated interventions based on indicators of school district and charter school performance and program effectiveness. These indicators are part of the Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System (PBMAS). Overall results on the PBMAS indicators, as well as instances of low performance on individual PBMAS indicators, are taken into account in determining required levels of intervention. The individual indicators address issues related to student participation in, and performance on, assessment instruments; graduation and dropout rates; over-identification of students for special education programs; disproportionate student representation based on race or ethnicity or on limited English proficiency; and disciplinary actions.  District and charter special education data are reviewed regularly as are complaints filed with TEA about special education services.  For further information or questions about this status, please contact the Program Monitoring and Interventions Division at (512) 463-5226.  The “as of date” for the statuses reported in the 2007-08 AEIS report is October 8, 2008.

The definitions of each program status category are:

• Local Interventions Implemented. The LEA completed a local review process by a specified date as required in Stage 1A Intervention and retained materials and templates at the LEA.
• Completed: Routine Follow-up. The LEA data and documentation met TEA requirements for completion of process. TEA will monitor implementation of the CIP.
• Completed: Noncompliance Follow-up. The LEA data and documentation met TEA requirements for completion of process. TEA will monitor implementation of the CIP and systemic correction of areas of noncompliance identified by the review.
• Pending CIP Resubmission. TEA review determined that one or more areas of the CIP did not meet minimum TEA requirements, and revision was necessary.
• Pending TEA On-Site Action. TEA review determined that: appropriate implementation of TEA monitoring processes, including submission of accurate data, appropriate implementation of intervention requirements, and/or appropriate implementation of the CIP, could not be verified through LEA documentation; imminent program performance and/or effectiveness concerns exist; and/or ongoing noncompliance for more than one year is identified, resulting in an on-site review to determine additional TEA intervention.
• TEA On-Site Action Completed: Routine Follow-up. TEA has completed an on-site review of the LEA program. As a result, the LEA has implemented and/or revised a CIP. TEA will monitor implementation of the CIP.
• TEA On-Site Action Completed: Noncompliance Follow-up. TEA has completed an on-site review of the LEA program. As a result, the LEA has implemented and/or revised a CIP that includes actions to address noncompliance with program requirements. TEA will monitor implementation of the CIP and systemic correction of areas of noncompliance identified by the review.
• Year After TEA On-Site Action:  Routine Follow-up.  TEA completed an on-site review of the LEA program in the prior year.  As a result, the LEA implemented and/or revised a CIP that continued throughout the subsequent year.  TEA continues to monitor implementation of the CIP.
• Year After TEA On-Site Action:  Noncompliance Follow-up.  TEA completed an on-site review of the LEA program during the prior year.  As a result the LEA implemented and/or revised a CIP that included actions to address noncompliance with program requirements, and the CIP continued throughout the subsequent year.  TEA continues to monitor implementation of the CIP and systemic correction of areas of noncompliance identified by the review.
• TEA On-Site Action Completed: Oversight/Sanction/Intervention. TEA has completed an on-site review of the LEA program. As a result: ongoing noncompliance for longer than one year was identified/confirmed; appropriate implementation of the TEA monitoring process, including submission of accurate data and appropriate implementation of intervention requirements, could not be verified; and/or CIP implementation was not proceeding as appropriate for the LEA. TEA oversight, sanctions, and interventions were implemented as a result.
• Pending Random Data Verification. Regardless of whether a stage of intervention initially was assigned, an LEA may be subject to random selection for data review to ensure the integrity of monitoring system data and appropriate implementation of the program.
• Pending Random Process Verification. Regardless of review results or stage of intervention, an LEA may be subject to random selection for process review to ensure the integrity of the implementation of the monitoring system, including data reporting and accuracy of findings.
• Oversight/Sanction/Intervention. TEA oversight, sanctions, and interventions were implemented under the following circumstances: (a) the second CIP submission of an LEA at Stage 1, Stage 2, or Stage 3 Intervention was not adequate; (b) the CIP of an LEA at Stage 4 Intervention was not adequately developed after an on-site review; (c) ongoing noncompliance for longer than one year was identified; (d) CIP implementation was not proceeding as appropriate for any LEA; (e) the LEA previously was assigned on-site interventions and remained under escalated oversight during the period of transition after removal of those interventions; or (f) TEA could not verify appropriate implementation of TEA monitoring processes, including submission of accurate data, appropriate implementation of intervention requirements, and/or appropriate implementation of a CIP.
• On-Site Intervention Assigned. TEA has assigned a technical assistance team, special purpose monitor, conservator, or management team to oversee correction of noncompliance and/or implementation of program and monitoring requirements.
• Proposed Charter Non-Renewal. The charter school has been notified of TEA's intent not to renew the charter.
• Campus Closure. The campus was closed as a result of TEA sanctions.
• In Review. TEA had not completed initial review of the information submitted by the LEA.
• No status is shown for LEAs not selected for PBM intervention for special education program areas.

Performance Reporting