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October 2009
Test scores don’t tell the whole story of how Mims Elementary School in Mission CISD narrowed its achievement gap, but they’re certainly worth noting. In 2003, 75 percent of the school’s students from low-income families passed every section of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. By 2008, that figure jumped to 89 percent. It was a monumental improvement, considering that students from low-income families represent more than half of the South Texas school’s enrollment. Four years in a row now, the state has rated the campus “exemplary,” and Mims has made the Texas Business and Education Coalition’s Honor Roll for a record-breaking 10th straight year. What’s behind this school’s success? The K-6 school focuses on giving each of its 800-plus students a sense of community, confidence and competence, says Principal Yvonne Zamora. Erasing the achievement gap – that persistent, lagging performance gap between poor, minority students and their white, more affluent peers – is considered to be one of the most important m “Even as recently as 10 years ago, districts were many times rated highly based on how they did with all students,” says David Anthony, superintendent of Cypress-Fairbanks ISD in Houston. “(NCLB) helped everyone to understand that you’re only as good as you are with each individual student.” There are some signs that Texas, one of the first states to tie academic standards to student assessments, is on the right track:
There are divergent schools of thought regarding the achievement gap’s origins and solutions. Some argue that schools cannot shoulder the burden or the blame for societal problems such as poverty. Others claim there’s a lot that schools can do, but don’t do – in terms of effort and resources – for their neediest students. Katy ISD Superintendent Alton Frailey says there’s an element of truth to both points of view. “There’s plenty of blame to go around,” he says. No Child Left Behind has set the goal of all students reaching proficiency in reading and math by 2014. Combined with the increasing requirements of the state’s accountability system, schools face a tough challenge, district officials say. Statewide, there’s a 26-point percentage difference in TAKS passing rates between white and black students, and a 19-point percentage difference between Hispanic and white students based on 2008 results. Many superintendents say success starts with the right mindset: high expectations for all stu “You have to start with the belief that all children can learn,” says Birdville ISD Superintendent Stephen Waddell. “If you don’t believe that, then no matter what you do, it’s not going to work. You will have a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.” 
The high expectations must come from not only the classroom teacher, but from the principal and the board of trustees as well, says Weatherford ISD Superintendent Deborah Cron. “There are no excuses at the board level (here), so there are no excuses at the administrative level,” Cron says. “It’s critically important to have a principal who will not settle for mediocrity in the classroom. That [mindset] has driven improvement as much as anything else.” One school’s story Mims Elementary was honored this year by the National Association of State Title I Directors for its success in closing the achievement gap over two or more consecutive years. Mims and Beaver Technology Center in Garland ISD were the only two Texas schools to be honored by the group. Mims’ motto and guiding principle is “learning without limits.” One ingredient in the school’s recipe for success is that teachers take a special interest in the low-income students, forging relationships with them and monitoring their progress on benchmark tests, says Principal Zamora, who attended Mission CISD schools as a child. “We’re data-driven, and we make changes as needed,” she says. “It’s a work in progress.” Zamora also says she strives to have an open-door policy with teachers so they feel comfortable suggesting new programs and ideas. “Teachers know they have a voice. They take ownership as well,” she says. “I think that’s important.” Although many of their days run long, her teachers rarely complain, Zamora says. “Commitment from staff is essential,” she says. “We want to make sure we’re doing what’s best for students; it’s not about what’s easiest for us.” Tackling the gap Fenwick English, a researcher and professor of educational leadership at the University of North Carolina, says many districts fall short in two areas: they lack a rigorous, coherent curriculum and they too often stifle diverse teaching styles. “It’s the job of a school to deliver curriculum that is defined well, but also to allow the flexibility of teachers to deliver [the curriculum] to meet the variances in that school,” English says, explaining that the more diverse the student body, the greater the need for diverse teaching strategies. Teacher quality plays a tremendous role in narrowing the gap, Cron of Weatherford ISD says. “You’ve got to have a teacher who believes all kids can learn,” she says, “who will put into place instructional strategies that work, and who has a repertoire so that when one [strategy] doesn’t work, they can use another one.” Outfitting teachers with the right tools and support is essential, says Anthony, adding that Cypress-Fairbanks ISD has enhanced its professional development offerings in recent years. “The better your professional development systems, the better prepared teachers are to deal with their jobs,” Anthony says. “If you don’t have a staff with the capacity for achieving these goals, it’s not going to happen. Data analysis, staff development and support for teachers – those three things are non-negotiable if you’re going to close the achievement gap.” To use data effectively, educators must drill down to the individual student level. In Birdville ISD, administrators use data to determine learning gaps and then they work to broaden students’ experience, such as creating lists of common vocabulary across content areas. Frailey says he established a committee to review curriculum and teaching strategies along with data analysis to see how his district compares with others. He says he appreciates the focus on individual student performance because it’s more telling of what or who needs attention. In the past, in the face of low test scores, educators would go back and re-teach the entire curriculum when, in actuality, it might have been only one or two concepts that the students did not understand. As a matter of best practices, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD also has added more math labs and has stepped up its credit recovery program to “get kids to the point where they feel successful” without lowering academic standards, Anthony says. Even districts with high ratings from the state have work to do, Cron says. “Our goal is to be exemplary. We celebrate, but we continue to see where we can close the gap,” she says. Cron started the school year by doing a five-year gap analysis with principals and staff. The two subject areas that pose the most problems for her Fort Worth-area district are math and science. Each month during the school year, district officials will look at a scorecard with year-end TAKS passing rates and the difference between the highest- and lowest-performing students. Clear Creek ISD Superintendent Greg Smith says his staff has come to understand the importance of relationship building among students and staff in the learning process. With that mindset, the district has made double-digit gains across most student groups and subjects for the past six years, Smith says. “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care,” he says. RAVEN L. HILL is a freelance writer and former education reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. |
issions in education today by policymakers, educators and the general public. The No Child Left Behind Act is often credited with exposing the performance gap due to its focus on reporting student achievement rates by racial/ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups in addition to overall students. 
dents.