Texas News

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Date

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11/19/2015

Press Release

Most Students Granted Waivers Under New Policy

86.4 percent of students who failed exit level tests still graduated

AUSTIN, TX— The Texas Association of Business (TAB) surveyed the top 100 school districts to discover the percentage of students who were allowed to graduate without passing all exit-level tests. Seventy-eight of the top 100 districts responded to requests for information. The survey found that 86.4 percent of students who failed up to two exit-level tests were granted a waiver to graduate by school district committees.

“These numbers go against the claim that we are preparing our students for a career or college after high school, “ said TAB CEO Bill Hammond. “By not holding students to a higher standard, we are doing them and the entire state a disservice.”

The numbers show almost every district (75 of the 78 responding) had an approval rate of over 50 percent. Twenty-three districts had a 100 percent approval rate. Only one district, McAllen, turned down every request.

“One thing to remember is that the passing standard on some of these tests is below 40 percent,” said Hammond. “Another thing to remember is that we stop testing after a student’s junior year, and there are plenty of chances for a student to retake tests before they graduate. It is unconscionable to allow our students to leave our public schools unprepared, yet that is what we are doing.”

Usually, students take the Algebra I, English I and biology exams their freshman year, English II their sophomore year and U.S. History their junior year. The passing standard for Algebra I and English I is a score of 37 percent.
Under SB-149, which passed earlier this year, students who fail up to two exit-level end-of-course exams may apply for a testing waiver to graduate if they meet all other criteria for graduation.

“Time and time again our students have shown they can meet challenges and do well. It is time that we stop being afraid of pushing our students to achieve more. A high school diploma is not a participation ribbon. Our education system should be about building a foundation for life-long learning and success,” said Hammond.

# # #

Rank	# of Students	ISD	Date	Rcvd Resp	Requests Made	Requests Granted	Percent Granted	Summary
48	25,252	McAllen ISD	7/15/15	7/29/15	67	0	0.0%
2	157,575	Dallas ISD	6/29/15	9/15/15	961	178	18.5%
85	12,926	Wylie ISD	8/18/15	10/9/15	42	15	35.7%
28	39,209	Clear Creek ISD	7/13/15	7/16/15	16	9	56.3%
59	19,870	Beaumont ISD	7/31/15	8/19/15	85	50	58.8%
86	12,841	Deer Park ISD	8/19/15	8/27/15	18	11	61.1%
7	69,449	Fort Bend ISD	6/29/15	7/21/15	164	107	65.2%
10	64,300	Aldine ISD	6/29/15	7/16/15	273	182	66.7%
57	21,675	Goose Creek Consolidated ISD	7/16/15	10/12/15	60	41	68.3%
56	21,861	Galena Park ISD	7/16/15	7/22/15	66	46	69.7%
1	203,066	Houston ISD	6/29/15	7/1/15	529	370	70.0%
15	54,394	San Antonio ISD	6/29/15		198	139	70.2%
61	19,205	Pearland ISD	7/31/15	10/15/15	44	32	72.7%
35	33,687	Spring Branch ISD	7/15/15	8/14/15	48	36	75.0%
54	22,628	Midland ISD	7/16/15	7/21/15	48	36	75.0%
81	14,330	Rockwall ISD	8/18/15	8/24/15	4	3	75.0%
78	14,573	San Angelo ISD	8/18/15	8/26/15	32	25	78.1%
5	86,528	Austin ISD	6/29/15	7/20/15	112	91	81.3%
90	11,886	Clint ISD	8/19/15		38	31	81.6%
74	15,101	Crowley ISD	8/6/15	8/10/15	77	63	81.8%
24	43,672	Socorro ISD	6/29/15	7/20/15	90	74	82.2%
62	18,605	Harlingen Consolidated ISD	7/31/15	8/14/15	45	37	82.2%
14	55,659	Plano ISD	6/29/15	7/1/15	17	14	82.4%
43	28,790	Lubbock ISD	7/15/15	7/21/15	35	29	82.9%
69	16,626	Northwest ISD	8/6/15	8/10/15	40	34	85.0%
47	25,278	Lamar Consolidated ISD	7/15/15	8/13/15	27	23	85.2%
33	36,076	Humble ISD	7/14/15	7/28/15	41	36	87.0%
52	23,711	Birdville ISD	7/16/15	7/23/15	31	27	87.1%
70	15,932	Hays Consolidated ISD	8/6/15	8/28/15	33	29	87.9%
99	10,397	Georgetown ISD	8/19/15	9/2/15	25	22	88.0%
50	24,788	Laredo ISD	7/15/15	10/23/15	135	119	88.1%
36	33,412	Edinburg Consolidated ISD	7/15/15	8/10/15	78	69	88.5%
3	107,960	Cypress-Fairbanks ISD	6/29/15	7/8/15	109	97	89.0%
63	18,393	Tyler ISD	7/31/15	8/24/15	47	42	89.4%
20	46,002	Klein ISD	6/29/15	7/6/15	58	52	89.7%
17	52,664	Conroe ISD	6/29/15	7/1/15	44	40	91.0%
55	22,503	Judson ISD	7/16/15	7/23/15	67	61	91.0%
44	28,533	Ector County ISD	7/15/15	10/12/15	69	63	91.3%
66	17,788	Weslaco ISD	8/6/15	8/24/15	24	22	91.7%
13	58,151	Garland ISD	6/29/15	7/13/15	205	188	91.7%
26	40,998	Killeen ISD	7/13/15	7/16/15	36	33	91.7%
95	10,884	New Caney ISD	8/19/15	8/25/15	27	25	92.6%
32	36,513	Spring ISD	7/14/15	8/25/15	94	78	93.0%
82	13,510	Grapevine-Colleyville ISD	8/18/15	8/24/15	16	15	93.8%
53	23,070	Pflugerville ISD	7/16/15	7/23/15	32	30	93.8%
31	37,044	Richardson ISD	7/14/15	8/7/15	34	32	94.1%
19	49,655	Brownsville ISD	6/29/15	7/13/15	112	106	94.6%
21	45,410	Alief ISD	6/29/15	7/15/15	114	109	95.6%
22	45,034	Round Rock ISD	6/29/15	10/20/15	23	22	96.0%
40	32,564	Mansfield ISD	7/15/15	7/28/15	28	27	96.4%
39	32,995	Amarillo ISD	7/15/15	7/22/15	29	28	96.6%
23	44,376	Ysleta ISD	6/29/15	10/13/15	67	65	97.0%
83	13,079	Duncanville ISD	8/18/15	8/19/15	35	34	97.1%
46	26,423	Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD	7/15/15	7/16/15	52	51	98.1%
16	52,942	Pasadena ISD	6/29/15	7/15/15	110	109	99.1%
8	67,439	North East ISD	6/29/15	7/1/15	43	43	100.0%
12	62,414	Katy ISD	6/29/15	7/7/15	31	31	100.0%
25	42,179	United ISD	6/29/15	8/4/15	105	105	100.0%
27	40,123	Frisco ISD	7/13/15	7/28/15	10	10	100.0%
29	38,678	Corpus Christi ISD	7/13/15	10/22/15	108	108	100.0%
34	34,770	Irving ISD	7/14/15		67	67	100.0%
37	33,309	Leander ISD	7/15/15	7/27/15	7	7	100.0%
38	33,130	Keller ISD	7/15/15	7/23/15	5	5	100.0%
49	24,845	Denton ISD	8/6/15	8/31/15	36	36	100.0%
51	24,733	McKinney ISD	7/16/15	10/15/15	13	13	100.0%
60	19,505	Allen ISD	7/31/15	8/13/15	6	6	100.0%
65	17,817	Comal ISD	8/6/15	8/24/15	21	21	100.0%
67	17,177	Abilene ISD	8/6/15	8/24/15	17	17	100.0%
68	17,155	Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD	8/6/15	8/14/15	10	10	100.0%
72	15,611	Bryan ISD	8/6/15	8/6/15	36	36	100.0%
76	14,950	Harlandale ISD	8/18/15	8/26/15	21	21	100.0%
79	14,546	Wichita Falls ISD	8/18/15	9/16/15	32	32	100.0%
80	14,402	Victoria ISD	8/18/15	8/31/15	16	16	100.0%
88	12,459	Southwest ISD	8/19/15	9/1/15	17	17	100.0%
89	12,016	Magnolia ISD	8/19/15	8/19/15	20	20	100.0%
93	11,199	Del Valle ISD	8/19/15	9/2/15	32	32	100.0%
94	11,125	Tomball ISD	8/19/15	9/10/15	6	6	100.0%
97	10,805	College Station ISD	8/19/15	8/20/15	8	8	100.0%
64	18,209	Alvin ISD	7/31/15	7/20/15	-	-	-
45	26,607	Grand Prairie ISD	7/15/15	7/30/15	90	Not all
6	83,109	Fort Worth ISD	6/29/15
84	13,060	Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD	8/18/15
4	98,110	Northside ISD, San Antonio	6/29/15
9	64,703	Arlington ISD	6/29/15
11	64,214	El Paso ISD	6/29/15
18	51,920	Lewisville ISD	6/29/15
30	38,287	Mesquite ISD	7/13/15
41	31,634	Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD	7/15/15
42	28,965	La Joya ISD	8/6/15
58	21,570	Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD	7/15/15
71	15,680	Mission Consolidated ISD	8/6/15
73	15,329	Waco ISD	8/6/15
75	15,012	Eagle Pass ISD	8/6/15
77	14,940	Donna ISD	8/18/15
87	12,551	Brazosport ISD	8/19/15
91	11,863	Edgewood ISD	8/19/15
92	11,387	San Benito Consolidated ISD	8/19/15
96	10,839	Rio Grande City Consolidated ISD	8/19/15
98	10,676	Coppell ISD	8/19/15
100	10,381	San Felipe-Del Rio Consolidated IS	8/19/15

86.4%

Average number of requests granted for all districts reporting (78)

Number of districts reporting 100% approval of requests (29% of all schools reporting)

Number of districts reporting greater than 50% approval of requests (96% of all schools reporting)

Number of districts reporting no approved requests (none out of 67)