By Mary Alys Cherry
The TEA report card is in, and Clear Creek ISD and its 42,000 students earned an A or Exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency.
So did Friendswood ISD and Pearland ISD, meaning this is certainly a good area for families with kids.
But first, Clear Creek ISD. Actually, the school district received three grades – A or 91 for student achievement, B or 84 for school progress, and an A or 95 for closing the gap – and an overall rating of A or 92.
So, where is this district doing exceptionally well? “Districts,” the TEA says, “earn an A (90–100) for exemplary performance when they serve most students well, encouraging high academic achievement and/or appropriate academic growth for almost all students. Most students will be prepared for eventual success in college, a career, or the military.”
The grade a district receives is based 40% on its STAAR performance, 40% on college, career and military readiness and 20% on its graduation rate, the education agency said. CCISD’s four-year graduation rate is 97.1% and rises to 98.5 after five years and 98.7 after six years with a 0.5% dropout rate.
How did students do academically? Most schools scored in the 80s with some scoring in the 70s and others in the 90s.
Clear Horizons Early College High School, where students are probably most focused on school work, scored a 98. But Clear Springs High was not far behind with a 95, along with Clear Falls High with a 92, Clear Lake High with a 91, Clear Creek with a 90 and Clear Brook, 87.
Highest scoring intermediate schools were Seabrook with a 94, and Westbrook and Victory Lakes, 91. At the elementary level, Gilmore took top honors with a 94, followed at 91 by Ralph Parr and Falcon Pass with a 90.
Friendswood ISD did even better than Clear Creek, scoring three A’s – 94 on student achievement, 91 on school progress and 96 on closing gaps, for an overall 94.
And, all its six schools scored A’s and in the 90s with a 93 for Friendswood High, 96 for Cline Elementary and Windsong Intermediate, 94 for Westwood and Bales Intermediate and 93 for Friendswood Junior High.
Pearland ISD also scored high with an A, B and A for scoring 92 on achievement, 89 on progress and 99 on closing the gap. Dawson High with a 92 and Turner Career High with a 93 both scored A’s while Pearland High had a B or 88 and Pace Center High had a 93.
Highest scoring middle schools were Pearland Junior High East; Miller and Alexander with a 94 and Pearland Junior High West, 93.
High scoring elementary campuses included Rusty Oaks, 94; Shadycrest and Silvercrest, 91; and Magnolia, 90.
Ratings for a number of school districts, including Pasadena, Dickinson, Alvin and Galveston, were delayed because of Hurricane Harvey.
Clear Creek ISD is forming a School Boundary Advisory Committee to develop and present new boundary recommendations to the District’s Board of Trustees for Florence Campbell Elementary, which is scheduled to open in August 2019 in League City.
The Clear Creek ISD community gave the school district a big thumbs up on May 6, approving the $487 million bond referendum, with 63.59 percent voting for and 36.41 percent against the, based on unofficial election results.
The Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution in opposition of the new A-F rating system of schools in Texas because they think it creates a false impression about students, ignores the unique strengths of each school and unfairly reduces each student’s worth to the school’s assigned grade.
By Mary Alys Cherry
