Student Learning

Like all schools in Texas, Highland Park ISD is concerned with student success on TAKS. TAKS data is used in a number of ways in our school in order to support student success. Teachers have a program where they can access students' TAKS data from previous years. This allows teachers to identify students who have struggled in the past early in the school year. In math, science, and English, teachers also give a benchmark TAKS. The math department then breaks down the test by TEKS and requires students to attend tutorials on TEKS they have not mastered. While they do not have as an elaborate analysis and tutorial system in place as the math department, the science and English departments identify students who need extra tutorials through the benchmark testing. Our social studies department is not as concerned with the TAKS test because most students find it easy. We do use previous years' scores and classroom performance to identify students who may need extra tutorials. Another important use of the previous years' TAKS scores is to find students in our class who do not have 8^th grade scores. The 10^th grade test covers 8^th grade material. A student who does not have 8^th grade scores likely attended a private school or moved from out of state. These students would need tutorials on 8^th grade TEKS.

The district has also been watching performance and growth in its sub-populations. Our district is small and homogeneous; however, it grows more diverse each year. As we grow, the success of these sub-populations becomes more important.

The district does not have any formal analysis in place for AP scores. However, most AP teachers use their AP scores and the Instructional Planning Report that comes with the scores to make adjustments to their courses. I just received my scores and Planning Report and have already started thinking about changes to the curriculum. For instance, my students scored lowest on multiple choice questions about the Foundations Unit. I need to find a way to make this information more memorable to them and spend more time on this unit in exam review.

The state of Texas has been field testing several end of course exams. My class does not have one yet, but classes such as Chemistry, World Geography, and Geometry were asked to pilot the test this year. The teachers get the scores back in about 48 hours. However, they are not told what is on the exam. As these exams are developed I'm sure this will become another set of data teachers will be required to evaluate.

Parent and student feedback is also important to the leadership in our district. Parents and students are on the building leadership committees and are included on any committee involved in making changes in the district. The district issues a parent satisfaction survey each spring. The superintendent and building principals also meet with panels of students to get their feedback on issues involving the school.