Angela Jenkins, Office of Communications                                                                       August 17, 2006

(903) 262-1064                                                                                                                        For Immediate Release

News Release

TISD AYP Standards Over 99%

            Tyler ISD announces that preliminary Federal testing results are in for the 2006 Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) and TISD achieves more than 99% district-wide.  As part of the federal mandated No Child Left Behind Act, this annual testing process measures adequate growth and recognized progress of student achievement.  Out of the district-wide 910 possible indicators, TISD district met AYP standards in 99.4% (905 indicators) instances.  TISD missed AYP standards in only 5 areas – less than 1%. 

“Overall we’re very pleased with achieving over 99% of the 910 possible indicators measured at the Federal level, but we will not be satisfied as a district until we meet 100 percent of the indicators,” said Superintendent David Simmons. “We will use the information to identify strengths and areas to focus on in the coming school year.”

The standards for special education changed this year for students. Dropping from 5% last year to 3% this year, the cap decrease requires more students in special education to test on grade level and meet standards.  As a result of the 3% cap on proficiency results, the only identified area district-wide that missed AYP was special education Performance in Reading.  TISD results mirror those throughout the state.  The entire state of Texas did not meet the new federally mandated cap for special education.  The Texas Education Agency (TEA) appealed this same issue last year on behalf of all school districts in the state.  TISD has not been informed if TEA will repeat this appeal process to the federal Department of Education again.

It’s unfortunate that state and federal accountability systems are not aligned,” Simmons explained.  “It’s unfortunate a district can achieve a 99.4 percent success rate and still be classified as not meeting AYP.  I believe most people would agree that a success rate of 99.4 percent is a strong indicator of success,” said Simmons.

Gains were made district-wide in Reading and Math in every subgroup (see chart below).  The seven subgroups analyzed include All Students, African American, Hispanic, White, Economically Disadvantaged, Special Education, and Limited English Proficient (LEP). 

Academic Performance of Students Meeting AYP Standards for 2005 and 2006

Reading

Mathematics