Midland Independent School District academic performance, initiatives, and issues (2015)

• TEA accountability report
• Test scores
  • STAAR proficiency
  • ACT/SAT scores
• High school completion and dropout rates
• Academic initiatives and issues

Midland Independent School District Academics
Special reports:
Exploring MISD's poor academic performance • The fall of MISD's junior high schools

The academic performance of the Midland Independent School District in Texas has been measured and evaluated through a number of metrics crafted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). With a few exceptions, these evaluations have shown a decline in the district’s academic performance in recent years.

Overall from 2003 to 2014, the district’s graduation rate fell, while its dropout rate more than doubled. While the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the state’s standard score for the ACT dropped from 2006 to 2011, it rose for SAT scores. Subject proficiency in reading, math, social studies, writing and science varied across grades from 2012 to 2014; overall, the percentage of district students achieving satisfactory academic performance or above on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) declined in 10 of the 17 areas.

Disagreement over what exactly the metrics measure and what weight should be given to them further complicates the value of these assessments. The district has regularly appealed ratings from the TEA in recent years. Meanwhile, the district has launched a number of academic initiatives related to graduation and dropout rates, grade point averages, special academies, technology and more.

To learn more about how Midland ISD's performance compares at the local, state and national levels, see Midland ISD in context: academic performance.

TEA accountability report

See also: Midland Independent School District in context

The TEA issues an annual accountability report for each school district in the state. This rating determines if district schools met expectations in the following four categories of educational achievement during a particular school year:

• Student Achievement: Measures student performance on the annual Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test.
• Student Progress: Measures student performance in reading, math and writing courses at the district level.
• Closing Performance Gaps: Measures year-to-year performance among students in the lowest-performing demographics.
• Postsecondary Readiness: Measures student readiness for college, employment or military service after graduation.

Midland ISD received a "Met Standard" designation on the state's 2014 report. District schools met 82 percent of indicators set forth by state education officials in all four assessment categories. The chart on the right details the district's accountability report from 2013 to 2015. To view the full data set, click [show] on the blue bar below to display the table of data.

Performance Index Summary
Category	Points earned	Maximum points	Index score	Target score
2014–2015
Student Achievement	18,249	28,360	64	60
Student Progress	524	1,800	29	20
Closing Performance Gaps	873	3,000	29	28
Postsecondary Readiness	65.2	N/A	65	57
2013–2014
Student Achievement	24,683	37,207	66	55
Student Progress	1,146	3,200	36	16
Closing Performance Gaps	892	3,000	61	57
Postsecondary Readiness	60.8	N/A	61	57
2012–2013
Student Achievement	33,314	48,206	69	50
Student Progress	1,231	4,000	31	21
Closing Performance Gaps	889	1,500	59	55
Postsecondary Readiness	765	1,000	77	75

STAAR proficiency

The TEA implemented the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in 2012. This battery of annual tests includes reading and math tests for students in grades 3–8, writing tests for grades 4 and 8, science tests for grades 5 and 8, and a social studies test for grade 8. The graphs in this section show the percentage of Midland ISD's students achieving Level II (Satisfactory Academic Performance) or above on these tests each year. A full table of the data for all subject areas and grades, including comparisons to regional and state scores, can be found in the table below the graphs; click [show] in the blue bar to display the table.

During the study period, percentages of district students reaching Level II or above declined in 10 test areas, improved in six test areas and stayed steady in one test area. Midland ISD is included in Region 18 for state test scores. The region, which encompasses 33 school districts near Midland, saw declining Level II percentages in 11 test areas, improving percentages in five test areas and steady scores in one test area.

Midland ISD STAAR proficiency, 2012-2014
Year	Grade level	Subject	District % Level II and up	Region % Level II and up	State % Level II and up
2012	3	Reading	69	66	78
2013	3	Reading	71	67	81
2014	3	Reading	65	64	76
2012	3	Mathematics	55	54	69
2013	3	Mathematics	54	52	70
2014	3	Mathematics	54	54	71
2012	4	Reading	67	65	77
2013	4	Reading	63	58	72
2014	4	Reading	61	59	74
2012	4	Mathematics	55	54	69
2013	4	Mathematics	54	49	69
2014	4	Mathematics	52	51	71
2012	4	Writing	56	59	72
2013	4	Writing	58	56	70
2014	4	Writing	59	58	73
2012	5	Reading	69	66	78
2013	5	Reading	67	65	77
2014	5	Reading	81	78	86
2012	5	Mathematics	67	63	78
2013	5	Mathematics	64	57	74
2014	5	Mathematics	79	76	88
2012	5	Science	67	61	73
2013	5	Science	66	59	73
2014	5	Science	65	60	74
2012	6	Reading	75	71	76
2013	6	Reading	68	63	72
2014	6	Reading	75	69	78
2012	6	Mathematics	76	72	77
2013	6	Mathematics	68	61	74
2014	6	Mathematics	74	70	79
2012	7	Reading	68	68	77
2013	7	Reading	69	70	78
2014	7	Reading	61	62	76
2012	7	Mathematics	51	54	71
2013	7	Mathematics	65	59	72
2014	7	Mathematics	57	50	68
2012	7	Writing	65	62	73
2013	7	Writing	58	61	71
2014	7	Writing	57	59	72
2012	8	Reading	76	74	81
2013	8	Reading	75	76	83
2014	8	Reading	81	82	90
2012	8	Mathematics	71	67	73
2013	8	Mathematics	60	63	76
2014	8	Mathematics	75	75	86
2012	8	Science	64	62	71
2013	8	Science	62	65	75
2014	8	Science	57	58	72
2012	8	Social Studies	49	46	61
2013	8	Social Studies	47	48	64
2014	8	Social Studies	45	47	63

ACT/SAT scores

The graphs above display the ACT and SAT scores received by Midland ISD students from 2006 to 2011. The left-hand graph shows the average scores, and the right-hand graph displays the percentage of students who met or exceeded the TEA's standard ACT score of 24 and standard SAT score of 1100. ACT scores peaked in 2009, when 41.5 percent of students who took the test were at or above criterion. Similarly, student SAT scores were the highest in 2008, when 43.7 percent of students met or exceeded expectations. Both sets of scores saw a decrease from that time to 2011. The percentage of students taking the ACT and SAT who were meeting the standard scores dropped by 14.4 and 15.3 percent, respectively.

Midland ISD ACT scores, 2006-2011
Year	English	Math	Reading	Science	Composite	% at or above standard
2006	20.0	22.5	21.8	21.2	21.5	33.5
2007	20.7	22.7	21.7	21.4	21.7	35.1
2008	20.9	23.0	22.3	21.6	22.1	36.9
2009	21.7	23.6	22.8	21.8	22.6	41.5
2010	20.3	22.7	21.7	21.9	21.8	37.3
2011	18.8	21.3	20.4	20.3	20.3	27.1

Midland ISD SAT scores, 2006-2011
Year	Math	Reading	Writing	Combined	% at or above standard
2006	542	513	510	1055	37.5
2007	536	513	508	1049	36.2
2008	547	520	514	1068	43.7
2009	543	517	500	1060	41.0
2010	518	492	475	1010	28.5
2011	515	487	468	1002	28.4

High school completion and dropout rates

Four-year longitudinal rate:
The four-year longitudinal rate is the percentage of students from a class of beginning ninth graders who graduated, continued, received a GED or dropped out by the time of their scheduled graduation. For example, the longitudinal graduation rate for the class of 2013 is the percentage of students who began as ninth graders in 2009 and graduated by 2013.

From 2003 to 2014, the four-year longitudinal graduation rate dropped 3.5 percentage points, while the four-year longitudinal dropout rate increased by seven percentage points in the same number of years. The graduation rate was the highest in 2003, when 84.4 percent of students from that graduating class finished high school in four years. The class of 2007 had the lowest graduation rate (74.4 percent) and the highest dropout rate (16.1 percent). The lowest dropout rate was 4.1 percent in 2004.

When measured against districts with commensurate enrollment, Midland ISD had the lowest graduation rate and the highest dropout rate for the 2013-2014 school year. In the 2012-2013 school year, Midland ISD had the third-highest dropout rate in front of two Texas school districts and behind two districts in different regions. Midland ISD's graduation rate was also lower than the comparison districts in that school year.

Midland ISD high school completion and dropout rates, 2003-2013
Cohort	Students graduated	Graduation rate (%)	Students continued	Continued rate (%)	Students received GED	GED passage rate (%)	Students completed	Completion rate (%)	Students dropped out	Dropout rate (%)
2002-2003	1,171	84.4	104	7.5	31	2.2	1,306	94.2	81	5.8
2003-2004	1,210	83.7	115	8.0	61	4.2	1,386	95.9	60	4.1
2004-2005	1,194	83.7	104	7.3	50	3.5	1,348	94.5	78	5.5
2005-2006	1,096	78.9	95	6.8	33	2.4	1,224	88.1	165	11.9
2006-2007	1,060	74.1	113	7.9	27	1.9	1,200	83.9	230	16.1
2007-2008	1,067	74.1	157	10.9	29	2.0	1,253	87.0	187	13.0
2008-2009	1,105	75.8	163	11.2	16	1.1	1,284	88.1	173	11.9
2009-2010	1,176	79.5	121	8.2	12	0.8	1,309	88.4	171	11.6
2010-2011	1,210	81.9	83	5.6	13	0.9	1,306	88.4	172	11.6
2011-2012	1,188	82.8	77	5.4	15	1.0	1,280	89.3	154	10.7
2012-2013	1,206	79.9	73	4.8	11	0.7	1,290	85.4	220	14.6
2013-2014	1,208	80.9	85	5.7	10	0.7	1,303	87.2	191	12.8

Comparison to districts with commensurate enrollments, 2013-2014
School District	State	Graduation rate (%)	Dropout rate (%)
Huntsville City Schools	Alabama	87.0	1.5
Pitt County Schools	North Carolina	82.7	2.1
Midland ISD	Texas	80.9	2.2
Robeson County Schools	North Carolina	85.0	2.9
Millard Public Schools	Nebraska	89.6	0.5
This table compares four-year longitudinal graduation rates and raw annual dropout rates. Source: Alabama State Department of Education • North Carolina Department of Public Instruction • Texas Education Agency • Nebraska Department of Education

Comparison to districts with commensurate enrollments, 2012-2013
School District	State	Graduation rate (%)	Dropout rate (%)
Pflugerville ISD	Texas	97.3	0.3
Manteca Unified School District	California	92.0	5.2
Judson ISD	Texas	88.2	1.7
Midland ISD	Texas	79.9	2.6
Sioux Falls School District	South Dakota	81.3	2.7
This table compares four-year longitudinal graduation rates and raw annual dropout rates. Source: Texas Education Agency • Education Data Partnership • Sioux Falls School District

Academic initiatives and issues

Below is a sampling of academic initiatives and issues in the district from 2005 to 2015. The district explored programs to improve the post-graduation readiness of its students, including more access to Advanced Placement (AP) classes and outreach to students who were at risk of dropping out. The district also responded to low ratings from the TEA with appeals and explanations.

2015

Graduation panels

Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed the education legislation Senate Bill 149 on May 11, 2015, after it passed in both the state House and Senate. SB 149 was introduced by state Sen. Kel Seliger (R) with the purpose of helping more students graduate high school. Upon signing the bill into law, Abbott issued a statement that said, "SB 149 protects students from undue penalization, and guarantees that students who meet specified requirements are able to graduate."

As of February 2015, about 28,000 students in the class of 2015 still needed to pass at least one of the five state exams in U.S. history, biology, algebra I, English I and English II in order to graduate. About half of those students still needed to pass more than one. The bill allowed for individual panels made up of educators, counselors and parents to assess whether a student should graduate based on other academic factors such as grades, college entrance exam scores and attendance. Students would have the chance to graduate even if they had not passed all of the state exams.

Seliger, who is the chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, thought that as many as half of the 28,000 students could qualify to graduate through these committees. "[W]e don’t want young people to be retained in school who really ought to graduate," he said.

The Midland Reporter-Telegram published an editorial titled "Our View: Graduation panels aren’t in best interest of students." It says in part, "If the state -- which has cut the number of mandatory state exams from 15 to five (and allows for retakes) -- makes this change, what’s the point of the exams?" In an article in the same paper nine days later, MISD Superintendent Ryder Warren was supportive of the bill.

“	Again, not all students will qualify for these committees, and I would also surmise that not all students who do will qualify for graduation, because of the stringent guidelines place on the committees. It does, however, give educators, parents and ultimately students the chance to be successful using a variety of academic indicators -- instead of just one.	”
—Ryder Warren

At the end of the 2014-2015 school year, the panels had allowed for the graduation of nearly 40 seniors in the Midland district who had not passed all of the state exams. The district initially identified 47 students who qualified to appear before a panel. Some of these students ended up passing the exams in the last chance to retake them, in May. Students who failed more than two of the exams were not eligible. Jeff Horner, the district's executive director of secondary education, said, "The committee did say no to a few, prescribed additional work in the summer and required an additional test in the summer."

Petroleum Academy

As a result of the area's growing labor concerns amid local drilling companies, Midland ISD announced in late 2014 that it was developing a "Petroleum Academy." The pilot program, which the district rolled out at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year, offers state-approved courses to high schoolers who want to work in the oil industry. The oil and gas curriculum is approved by the TEA. The district also plans to bring in workers from the field to share their experiences with students.

The new program comes as a result of House Bill 5, which passed in 2013. The bill reduced the number of standardized tests and allowed students to earn specialized endorsements in areas such as technology and business. According to Superintendent Warren, the legislation is a "game changer" for academics. "We have to design our programs to meet their needs, rather than vice versa," he said.

The district announced in December 2014 that it was looking for Petroleum Academy teachers to help establish the program. Qualified educators were required to have a bachelor's degree, teaching certification, and experience in the oil and gas industry. The minimum salary was set at $75,000.

In May 2015, the district announced its hiring of a coordinator for the program. Anthony Frost was chosen to fill that role; he has 25 years of experience in the oil industry and 13 years as an educator. The academy first held classes for approximately 110 high school students starting in August 2015.

2013

Tablet initiative

Midland ISD began a one-to-one tablet initiative for all elementary school students during the 2013-2014 school year. District officials selected the LearnPad tablet over the Apple iPad in summer 2013 due to the LearnPad's education-focused applications and device security. K-5 students at Peace Communication and Technology Academy tested the devices in fall 2013 before delivery was made to 1,600 sixth-grade students in spring 2014. The district's multi-year plan at the time of introduction was to expand LearnPad use to K-6 classes by fall 2014 with delivery dependent on wireless technology upgrades at 24 elementary schools. The tablet initiative was paid for using funds dedicated for technology updates by the $163 million bond approved in 2012.

2012

New plan approved to calculate GPAs

On March 5, 2012, the Midland Board of Trustees approved an initiative that changed how grade point averages were calculated in high school students' transcripts. Up until that point, all classes that students took were weighted equally when calculating GPAs except for dance, fine arts, physical education and JROTC. Under the new plan, only classes required by Texas' recommended high school plan affect GPA calculation.

The arguments in favor of the change cited the importance of giving students "the opportunity to take courses outside the required courses in English, math, science, social studies, and foreign language as designated in the Recommended High School Program (RHSP)." It was also argued that the new plan would make available "course selection related to a student’s postsecondary plans without grade point average impact."

2010

Bilingual education

MISD's bilingual/English as a second language (ESL) program faced scrutiny from the TEA in 2010 after the district's poor performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). Administrators estimated that it would cost $984,000 to make all of the necessary improvements. The program was in jeopardy of being canceled by the TEA, resulting in denied funds and the assignment of monitors to take over the entire district. Varela Lozano, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, said the program had been struggling for 10 years. Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Sylvia Garza hoped to get the program up to standards in five years.

Some of the changes proposed for the 2010-2011 school year included:

• 290 new computers for kindergarten through second-grade bilingual classrooms in order to implement the Imagine Learning English software;
• the implementation of individual graduation plans for all ESL students in seventh through 12th grade;
• the addition of five professional development days for all kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers;
• Signing bonuses of $2,500 to ESL certified teachers;
• Signing bonuses of $5,000 and a $5,000 stipend over two years to kindergarten through sixth-grade certified bilingual teachers;
• the hiring of eight ESL specialists for the eight Tier I elementary bilingual campuses; and
• the hiring of undergraduate and graduate students as academic tutors for ESL students.

After making many changes to the bilingual education program, the MISD trustees approved the use of $767,260 in state and federal funds to buy licenses for the Imagine Learning English software in 2013. They expected to pay between $50,000 and $60,000 annually for upkeep of the software. Sylvia Garza said this would impact about 5,000 kindergarten through second-grade ESL students.

Preschool program launched for children with disabilities

Midland ISD launched a pilot program in the fall of 2010 that made a preschool program available for employees' three-year-olds and other children in the district with disabilities. Before the initiative's approval, the district did not have a program to meet the federal requirement to place all children with disabilities in a preschool by their third birthday. Additionally, no tax dollars were used to fund the new program; employees paid $400 per month for their children to attend, and money from a federal education fund also went toward the costs.

Ratings improve

The TEA reported improved performance in Midland district schools. Academic ratings went from "unacceptable" to "acceptable" in the 2010 evaluation. Superintendent Ryder Warren said, "Everyone is extremely pleased." He expressed pride in the students, the staff and "especially our classroom teachers for the work that was done." Warren, who officially began on July 1, predicted that Midland would "build on our successes and change our kids' lives for the better."

An editorial in the Midland Reporter-Telegram noted that three of the district's elementary schools were given "unacceptable" performance ratings in the TEA report. They were Crockett, Milam and Travis.

The newspaper's opinion piece, published on September 3, 2010, said:

“

In the field of education, the plain fact is that high performance is demanded every year in every school. That means the whole of MISD is always on view by the public and the public desperately wants to support its school system. Let's hope that both citizens and MISD remain adamant about high standards in education. We're all in this together.

”

2009

Early College High School

In 2009, Midland ISD and Midland College began a collaboration called Early College High School at Midland College. This program allows students to simultaneously earn high school diplomas and associate degrees or two years of college credits over four years. The district's goals for the initiative include preparing students for higher education and reducing higher education costs for participating families. Below is the district's description of the students served by Early College High School:

“	The Early College High School Initiative focuses on young people for whom the transition into postsecondary education is now problematic. Its priority is to serve low-income young people, first-generation college goers, English language learners, and students of color, all of whom are statistically underrepresented in higher education and for whom society often has low aspirations for academic achievement.	”
—Midland Independent School District, (2015)

Leadership

The first principal of Early College High School was Jeanette McNeely, who served in the position from 2009 until 2013. McNeely left the position in June 2013 to become principal at Lee High School. McNeely's successor was Karen Murdoch, who served as principal during the 2013-2014 school year. Murdoch had worked as a teacher at the school from 2009 to 2013. Renee Aldrin is the current principal and has served in the position since the 2014-2015 school year.

Initiative results

Eighty students in the school's first class received their high school diplomas in 2013. According to the Midland Reporter-Telegram, the class of 2013 earned 61 associate degrees through the program and received $900,000 in scholarships; 94 percent planned on going to college after graduation. The school's 76 percent of dual-diploma recipients exceeded the 23 percent rate for similar programs at 46 schools across the country in 2013. This rate increased to 90 percent for the class of 2015.

A 2013 executive summary for the district's Early College High School showed increasing enrollment between 2009 and 2012. The school started with a freshman class of 113 students in 2009. The total number of freshmen and sophomores in 2010 was 189. Enrollment expanded to 316 students across all four grade levels in 2012 before dropping to 267 students in 2013. The attendance rate for students in 2013 was 97.6 percent.

In 2015, the school received a bronze-level distinction from U.S. News & World Report for student performance on annual state tests. The publication used measurements of overall student performance and the performance of disadvantaged students during the 2012-2013 school year to make its decision. The district's overall student performance index was 83.2, which was 34.8 points above the expected performance index. The percentage of disadvantaged students who were deemed proficient on tests was 64.5 percent, which was 28.2 percent above the state average for disadvantaged students.

AVID

The district expanded its AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program in 2009 to include students in 12th grade. In previous years it had been offered from eighth through 11th grade. The number of students in the program increased from 250 to 450, according to the executive director of student and scholar development, Betty Newman. AVID is a college preparation program. It entails a higher workload for the students as well as the teachers who teach an AVID class in addition to other subjects. "[T]here's lots of preparation that needs to be done before you can implement [AVID] into a school," said Newman.

During the summer of 2009, around 70 teachers and department chairs attended an AVID institute. Additional expansion of the program was being planned, including its promotion in elementary schools and training for teachers from five high-poverty schools in the district.

Read 180

The Read 180 program was started in 2007 for eighth graders, then expanded to include seventh graders. In 2009, it was announced that the program would further expand to elementary (for grades four through six) and high schools (grades nine through 12), with funding from federal stimulus money. Read 180 is a reading intervention program that uses group learning, individual instruction and a computer program that goes through text books with the students and asks questions to encourage critical thinking.

Recovery walk for dropouts

On September 12, 2009, at least 60 MISD staff, administrators and local business people participated in a "Recovery Walk" intended to encourage those who had dropped out to return to school. They were aiming to get 400 students to participate. In 2008, 400 students returned to school, and 311 of them graduated that May. The purpose of the walk was to show students who had dropped out that there were programs in place to help them.

The district attracted attention for its dropout rate after the TEA issued it an unacceptable ranking in state ratings in July. Its high school completion rate was 2 percent lower than the state's standard of 75 percent for economically disadvantaged students.

As part of the walk's initiative, funds were spent on pamphlets with information about getting back in the school system and graduating, as well as software to help keep track of the goals of students who decide to return. The district wanted to promote its online credit-recovery programs, which students can work on during nights and weekends. "We give them a prescription, so to speak, and an individualized graduation plan," said Superintendent Sylvester Perez.

Bowie Fine Arts Academy

Bowie Fine Arts Academy, an MISD magnet school, opened in 2009, offering programs in the fine arts. This elementary school became the district's third magnet school, the other two being Washington Math and Science Institute and the Pease Communication and Technology Magnet School. Enrollment in the first year was expected to be 498 students, who applied and were chosen by lottery for placement in the school.

The school hired 27 regular teachers, with additional part-time instructors and speech therapists. Some of the teachers were already employed by the district and had to re-interview for their jobs, but most were new.

The academy planned to offer dance, music, theater arts, piano and art to students in kindergarten through third grade, who would take lessons in each subject on a rotating basis. Beginning in fourth grade, students could begin to specialize in two areas.

Planning for the school's construction began in 2005, when it was first proposed to the MISD board of trustees. MISD board vice president Linda Foster said that the proposal drew interest "simply because of the amount of support and interest in the fine arts in Midland." It was financed through a $37 million bond issue passed in 2007.

Midland and two other districts fail to meet standards

Midland was one of three Texas school districts to receive an "academically unacceptable" rating from the state education agency in 2009. The others were Ector County and Andrews. According to a TEA news release, low science scores and high dropout rates were the chief stumbling blocks in all three districts. A news release from Midland explained that economically disadvantaged students were responsible for the low rating, despite an increased academic performance and a lower overall dropout rate.

Midland board of trustees President Jay Isaacs agreed that a small percentage of students caused the poor rating and that dropout rates were a state and national issue. "We still have a good, solid academic program at Midland ISD, but the one issue that we have talked about for some time is our dropout rate," he said.

The principal of Lee High School said she had asked the TEA to grant an appeal of the academically unacceptable rating given to her campus. The state agency rejected Stephanie Howard's request, which was based on the timing of a single student's enrollment. Howard was the only Midland principal to appeal a low rating.

2008

AP classes open to more students

Midland's school board announced it would make Advanced Placement (AP) classes available to more students beginning in the 2008 academic year. According to district officials, the move was in response to new national standards established by the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB), a private, nonprofit organization that administers the Scholastic Aptitude Test and other screening methods for higher educational institutes.

The CEEB reportedly planned to expand its advanced placement program for high school students. The district's director of guidance and counseling, Betty Newman, said,"We're trying to really open these classes up for students who are willing to do the work." She explained that to be eligible for AP classes, students must earn 75 percent of their grades in a core subject area with an 85 percent grade average.

Newman said 33 teachers would attend special training in Dallas in the summer. The district also wanted to recruit tutors from Midland College. "Our plan is to have at least one tutor for every five to seven students so we'll be tutor rich," she said.

High schools' low performance allows for transfers

The TEA reported that all three Midland high schools failed to achieve adequate scores under the federal "No Child Left Behind" law in 2008. Midland High and Lee High both missed the mark on the math performance test, while Coleman High failed in math, reading and graduation rate. In a news release, the district explained that its schools outperformed the state as a whole, with 91 percent meeting federal standards (compared to 75 percent statewide). Superintendent Sylvester Perez said Midland had put initiatives in place to improve scores. She added, "We expect to see positive results from the hard work that is taking place on all the district campuses."

TEA Spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson explained that the increase in the number of districts was due to changes in federal requirements.

In December 2008, Midland announced that students at five of its schools would be allowed to transfer to higher-performing campuses, based on poor academic ratings. The cost of transfers would be paid for by a state grant program. The schools were Parker Elementary, San Jacinto Junior High, Crockett Elementary, Travis Elementary and Midland Freshman.

2007

Two campuses rated "academically unacceptable"

San Jacinto Junior High and Parker Elementary received "academically unacceptable" ratings, the TEA announced on August 1, 2007. The Midland Independent School District was ranked "academically acceptable" overall, despite the low scores from the two schools. The scores were based on the previous school year.

According to Lee High School Principal Stephanie Howard, the two campuses with lower ratings had scored "acceptable" in their prior two years. Howard was previously at San Jacinto. She said Parker had begun to improve results in May. "There were a lot of measurements where we were at the exemplary level," she said, noting that a school's overall rating goes down if one group of students does poorly on a section.

2006

"Four by Four" curriculum

In a declared effort to better prepare students for college, the Texas State Legislature mandated more rigorous high school graduation standards. Called the "four by four" curriculum, this new approach required graduates to earn four credits in each core subject area (math, science, English, language arts and social studies) over four years of high school in order to receive a diploma. The program was authorized by the legislature's House Bill 1.

Not all educators were happy with the new standards. Ricardo Torres, Midland's assistant superintendent for secondary education, said the proposal was too rigid, although he noted that an earlier plan was even less flexible than the current one. Torres added:

“

I still think it puts undue pressure on kids that no matter how hard they work, they'll struggle. I think it will add to their frustration. And frustrated kids don't necessarily stay in school.

”

See also: Texas 79th Legislature "H.B. No. 1 text"

Closing of Excel

The Midland Independent School District's Excel campus was an alternative school that served students in grades 9-12. Excel had between 80 and 100 students. Minority enrollment was 85 percent, primarily Hispanic. The program had five teachers. It offered free tuition for night school, access to computer labs for accelerated credit recovery and small class sizes.

The program's students, particularly its seniors, were considered by the TEA to be at high risk for dropping out. District officials said Excel's dropout rate of more than 10 percent was bringing down the district's total statistics. The TEA said Midland's overall dropout rate was 5.5 percent for grades 9 through 12. That was characterized as "academically unacceptable."

On October 10, 2006, Ricardo Torres, Midland's assistant superintendent of secondary education, recommended to the district's trustees that they eliminate Excel's status as a standalone campus. Torres said the plan was to remove the Excel name and take away its campus number. Otherwise, nothing would change. "Everything will be reintegrated back into Midland High," said Torres. "The Excel program will continue to be for them a kind of credit recovery (program)."

Trustees voted to absorb the Excel program into Midland High School (MHS). That campus had 2,100 students, which was large enough to handle the increase, according to MHS Principal Linda Jolly.

Majority of district schools meet standards

The TEA announced that 31 of Midland's 33 campuses met federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) ratings. The two campuses that failed to meet AYP standards were Coleman High School and San Jacinto Junior High. According to a news release, AYP ratings took into consideration TAKS results, analyzing reading and math education. The score also factored in graduation and attendance rates. Among the groups included in the score were special education students and those with limited English proficiency.

Texas Education Commissioner Shirley Neeley said she was pleased by the "growing number of campuses ... meeting AYP goals." She noted that "[t]he percentage of districts meeting the federal targets is holding steady."

2005

Life College

Twelve students were to enroll for the district's Life College course for the 2004-2005 school year. The course, which was designed to teach life skills to special needs students, began in the 2003-2004 school year. Special education supervisor Kathie Gressett said that the goal of the course was to elevate students' jobs skills in combination with daily living skills. "We were looking for another way to make that transition from the high school setting to post-high school and post-secondary setting that's still meeting their IEP (Individual Education Plan) requirement, but at the same time, helps smooth that transition from being on a high school campus to the workforce," she said. The course was created as part of the broader life skills program for special needs students.

Vocational training in the course has included job coach supervision, job site training and eventual employment. Students have learned to shop in grocery stores, bank at local financial institutions, and wash their clothes at laundromats.

Program for expelled students

In April 2005, a program was proposed to reform an education program for expelled students. The proposal sought to move the location from the grounds of the Culver Youth Home to a new, undetermined location where expelled students could take more specialized courses. At the time, expelled students were in class for only half of the day with a teacher who taught all subject areas. The proposal sought to extend class time to a full day with teachers who were certified in specific subjects.

The district had a history of expelling between 125 and 150 students each year. Midland Superintendent Robert Nicks said, "What we've been looking at for the last two years is the fact that we're losing more and more young people who are making poor choices, bad decisions, but those decisions were leading them down a path of dropping out of school." The severity of an offense determined whether students remained on campus yet separated from mainstream students, attended classes at the Culver location, or were expelled outright without an opportunity for education from MISD. The proposal sought to increase graduation rates.

Bible-based curriculum

In spring 2005, the MISD school board considered the possibility of offering a course that would study the historical and geographical context of the Bible. This decision came a day after the Ector County ISD board of trustees discussed a similar course offering.

Midland Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Ed Zachary said, "Certainly I think anyone would agree that religion has impacted politics and has impacted international relationships over the centuries, and I think there are certainly ways you can tie in the data and information that would be found while doing a study of the Bible to both past history and current developments."

The district was researching the Bible Literacy Project textbook The Bible and American Civilization, which teaches the Hebrew scriptures in the first semester and the New Testament in the second. Review of curricula was put on hold in April 2005.

In December 2005, Ector County ISD voted to use the curriculum of the National Council on Bible Curriculum rather than that of the Bible Literacy Project.

Dropout rate reporting change

A statewide change in the reporting of dropout rates was set to begin in the 2005-2006 academic year. The reporting change sought to align with National Center for Education Statistics policy by including in the dropout count those students who obtained GEDs. Senate Bill 186 was passed in 2003 to join 46 other states using the NCES guidelines.

There was a concern that the change could affect MISD state funding. The new statistics would have nominally raised the dropout rate (1.1 percent in 2002-2003) and would have counted against the district's average daily attendance, on which funding was partly based.

The Midland assistant superintendent for secondary education said that the statistics would not account for students going on to obtain their GEDs at Midland College, homebound students and students who graduate in less than four years. TEA spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said, "Everybody wanted us to be more along the lines of the national definition, so that's what we did."

District rated "academically acceptable"

In August 2005, the TEA announced that Midland again achieved an "academically acceptable" rating overall. The assessment was based on such factors as the district's scores on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test, as well as dropout rates and student performance on other state evaluation standards. Superintendent Robert Nicks said he was pleased at the overall improvement of student performance, adding, "the district must do more in terms of individualized instruction."

However, Midland Freshman High School was rated "academically unacceptable" by the TEA. The district's executive director of administrative services, Teresa Moore, said the rating would be appealed. Three other Midland campuses (Coleman High School, Goddard Junior High School and DeZavala Elementary) also failed to meet federal standards, according to the TEA report. Those low scores were determined under the "No Child Left Behind" program, which requires school districts to make annual progress. Midland's communications director said the district would appeal that rating, too.

See also

• Midland Independent School District, Texas
• Exploring the Midland school system's poor academic performance
• The fall of Midland ISD's junior high schools
• Academic performance in Texas