| Action Required |
November 19, 1999
TO THE SUPERINTENDENT ADDRESSED:
Enclosed are the 1998-99 School Report Cards (SRC) for the campuses in your district. As required by statute, these report cards must be disseminated to the “parent, guardian, conservator, or other person having lawful control of each student at the campus.” This package contains the following:
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School Report Cards — One SRC for each campus in your district. Please note:
Distribution to Campuses. The principals of the campuses in your district will not get a separate mailing of their SRC. It is the districts’ responsibility to provide the SRCs to the campuses for distribution to the parents. On written request, the school district is required to provide a copy of a school report card to any other party.
Distribution to Parents. The SRC must be disseminated to parents within six weeks after it is received from TEA. The mid-year semester break does not have to be counted as part of the six weeks. The campus administration may provide the SRC in the same manner it would normally transmit official communications to parents and guardians, such as: including the SRC in a weekly folder sent home with each student, mailing it to the student’s residence, providing it at a teacher-parent conference, or enclosing it with the student report card. The SRC provided contains only those items required by statute. While you are required, at a minimum, to provide the enclosed SRCs to parents you are not limited to providing just this information. You may want to supplement the report by including information that highlights other areas of improvement and accomplishments of your schools.
Schools Not Receiving a SRC. Some schools will not receive a SRC. Any school that does not have TAAS results, or has such small enrollment that its results are masked, will not receive a SRC. These schools are not required to distribute a report. Note that paired schools will receive a SRC even though they do not have TAAS results of their own. Paired schools must distribute their SRC.
What’s New on the SRC. Percent Taking End-of-Course Examinations — The percent taking end-of course-examinations has been expanded to include results for English II and U. S. History along with those for Algebra I and Biology. Two years of data are reported for Algebra I and Biology; one year is reported for English II and U. S. History.
TAAS Results — Beginning with 1999 the performance of tested special education students as well as students who took the 3rd and 4th grade Spanish TAAS in reading and mathematics are included in the percent passing measures. To allow for valid comparisons between 1998 and 1999, the 1998 results have been recalculated to include the performance of these groups of students. Thus, 1998 data provided in these reports will not match the 1998 data shown on last year’s School Report Cards.
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Sample Cover Letter — A sample cover letter to parents is provided for your use or you may wish to write your own cover letter. You are not required to provide a
cover letter for the SRC, but many schools find it useful to do so. A Spanish translation of the sample cover letter is also provided.
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Definitions — Brief definitions of the items included in the SRC
are provided for your use. You are not required to provide these definitions to parents, but you may find it useful to do so.
A Spanish translation of the definitions is also provided.
If parents have follow-up questions about the information provided, the Glossary which was provided with your Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports in early November contains all the definitions and sources of data for the SRC. The information contained in the SRC is a subset of that published in the AEIS reports. A Spanish translation of the Glossary was also provided.
Should you wish to review the Commissioner of Education rules governing the School Report Card, see 19 TAC § 61.1021, located on the agency’s website under the heading School Law & Rules, TEA Rules, and the subheadings All Rules Currently in Effect; TAC, Title 19; Chapter 61. School Districts; Subchapter BB. Commissioner’s Rules on Reporting Requirements. The website address is:
I hope that you find this material informative and helpful. If, after careful reading of the enclosed materials you have questions about the SRC, please contact the Division of Performance Reporting at (512) 463-9704.
Sincerely,
Criss Cloudt, Associate Commissioner for Policy Planning and Research
Enclosures
Division of Performance Reporting Website: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport
For further information on this topic, contact the Division of Performance Reporting at (512) 463-9704.