The 1996 Comprehensive Biennial Report on Texas Public Schools contains ten chapters on the following topics, as required by Texas Education Code, Section 39.182:
In 1995 and 1996, students in Texas public schools improved their
performance on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS)
at most grade levels and subject areas. The 1996 Comprehensive
Biennial Report finds that two-thirds (67 percent) of all students*
passed all TAAS tests taken in spring 1996, up from 56 percent
two years ago. The most impressive gains occurred in mathematics
at grade 6, where the percentage of students passing rose from
61 percent in 1994 to 65 percent in 1995 and 78 percent in 1996.
Minority students continued to close the performance gap, with
double-digit gains in mathematics at grades 4 and 8.
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*"All students" refers to all students not in special education in
grades 3-8 and 10 whose results are included in the Academic Excellence Indicator
System.
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The number of dropouts reported decreased by 30 percent from 1992 -93 to 1994-95. The 29,918 students who were reported to have dropped out in 1994-95, however, still represent far too many COLO instances of school failure. Hispanic students make up the greatest proportion of drop outs. Three-quarters of all dropouts were older than the normal age for their grade, suggesting many of them had repeated a grade one or more times previously.
Over 128,000 Texas students repeated a grade in 1995-96, i.e., they enrolled in the same grade as they did the previous school year. The grade level retention rate declined to 4.0 percent of students in kinder garten through grade 12 in 1993-94 and remained unchanged in 1994 -95. The 1994-95 retentions cost an estimated $578 million in additional educational expenses. Retention in first grade fell by 2.1 percentage points over two years, due in part to a state-funded retention reduc tion pilot program in 1993-94 which had a 92 percent success rate. Overall retention rates have declined among all ethnic groups. At 16.8 percent, grade 9 continues to have the highest retention rate, with ninth-grade Hispanic students having a 25 percent retention rate.
Texas educators and policymakers are developing the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) with the view of making a significant and lasting impact on teaching and learning in the state. Over 300 individuals representing teachers, administra tors, parents, business and industry representatives, scientists and educators from colleges and universities, have met in subject-area teams throughout 1996 to de velop the TEKS. Two drafts developed by the teams have generated over 20,000 responses from the public. The focus of the TEKS is to articulate what students should know and be able to do rather than emphasizing how teachers should teach. The State Board of Education is scheduled to adopt all subject-area knowledge and skills by July 1997.
Districts and schools across the state rallied to meet increasingly challenging ac countability standards, with record numbers achieving exemplary and recognized levels of performance. Even though the standard for the percentage of students pass ing the TAAS increased in 1996, the number of low-performing campuses and dis tricts decreased. The number of campuses rated low-performing decreased from 267 in 1995 to 108 in 1996. In 1995, 34 districts were rated accredited warned; only 8 districts were rated academically unacceptable in 1996.
1996 marked the year in which the Texas public school system moved to promote local initiative and innovation through the formation of open-enrollment charter schools. The State Board of Education awarded 20 charters, authorized by law in 1995, to a variety of educational programs. Eleven of the 20 charters are designed to serve students at risk of academic failure or dropping out of school. Despite facing problems associated with inadequate startup funding, 16 of the 20 open-enrollment charter schools are currently operating and serving over 2,400 students.
The State Board of Education completed the sunset review of rules in May 1996, reducing the total number of its rules by 55 percent during the 1995-96 school year, from 551 to 250. The total number of Texas Education Agency rules, including com missioner rules, fell by 37 percent, from 590 to 374.
In January 1996, Texas became one of only twelve states to be granted Ed-Flex status by the U.S. Department of Education. Ed-Flex provides Texas school districts with greater flexibility in the design and operation of federal programs. Since the pro gram started in April 1996, the commissioner has granted four statewide waivers to each of over 400 school districts to reduce paperwork and 250 programmatic waivers to 150 separate districts.