Approximately 97 percent of all Dallas Independent School District campuses met state standards for student progress and 89 percent of schools achieved requirements for college and career readiness, according to data released today by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
In all four categories—student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps and postsecondary readiness—Dallas ISD outperformed thresholds set by the state. Overall, 190 of 227 (84 percent) Dallas ISD campuses met state standards, up from 184 the previous year.
All totaled, 123 of 151 Dallas ISD elementary schools met the performance standards, as well as 32 of 40 middle schools and 35 of 36 high schools. The district’s official rating for 2015 from TEA is “Met Standard.”
“There is a lot of encouragement to be found in this year’s accountability results,” said Interim Superintendent Michael Hinojosa. “We are going to use this data as a foundation as we aim higher during the upcoming school year. There is more to be done.”
To meet state standards, schools must meet three of four indexes: Either 1) student achievement or 2) student progress, coupled with 3) closing performance gaps and 4) postsecondary readiness. (Editor’s note: mathematics results for grades 3-8 were not included in this year’s indexes).
The state’s accountability standards increase in rigor each year. Below is a listing of the targets for each of the four key indexes, and Dallas ISD’s score on each:
| Indexes | Performance Target | Dallas ISD | Performance Target Met |
| Student Achievement | 60 | 67 | Yes |
| Student Progress | 20 | 37 | Yes |
| Closing Performance Gaps | 28 | 38 | Yes |
| Postsecondary Readiness | 57 | 75 | Yes |
Approximately 136 schools, or 60 percent of Dallas ISD campuses, earned at least one distinction designation in recognition of outstanding achievement in academic areas in addition to those evaluated under state accountability. Twenty of those schools earned the maximum designations for their group.
As another strong indicator, 200 Dallas ISD campuses (more than 88 percent) met the state index for closing the performance gap among economically disadvantaged and minority students.
Nineteen Dallas ISD schools rated as “improvement required” in 2014 met state standards this year, including six campuses in the Imagine 2020 initiative.
The district will continue to add additional supports for 37 schools rated as “improvement required.” Seven of those schools will receive new principals and teams of high-qualified teachers under the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) initiative, which aims to equip campuses where students are struggling academically with strong leaders and teams of highly effective teachers. This effort has the goal of raising achievement along those groups of students.
“There are encouraging results in this year’s accountability ratings. Still, we acknowledge that much work remains ahead,” Hinojosa said. “Dallas ISD will continue to work with great energy and effort in order to prepare each student to be college or career ready.”
