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May 30, 2008 2:41 pm US/Central
TAKS Scores Show Overall Improvement
TEA Releases Test Scores, Advancement Rates
AUSTIN (CBS/AP) ―
The numbers are in. And overall, TAKS scores showed an improvement from prior years in most grade levels.
Texas Education Agency officials released the summary reports for the standardized test known as Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS).
About three million students took the TAKS and this was the firs year 8th grade students were required to pass the tests to be promoted. Third and 5th grade students also must pass the test to advance to the next grade level.
Ninety-five percent of Texas eighth-graders passed the reading exam while 75 percent passed the math test, TEA officials reported Friday.
Texas Education Agency officials say they expect the cumulative passing percentage on the math exam to rise once results from the second administration of that test are factored in before the school year ends.
"We have set high expectations for this group of students and each year they meet or exceed them," said Education Commissioner Robert Scott.
This year's eighth-grade class is no stranger to promotion requirements. In third-grade they were required to pass the TAKS reading exam and in fifth-grade they had to pass both the math and reading tests to get to the next grade.
Results show that 83 percent of the 314,376 third graders who took the math portion in English passed on the first administration; 77 percent of the 26,769 students who took the math test in Spanish passed it.
Fifth-grade students must pass both the reading and math exams in order to be promoted. During the first or second test administration, 90 percent passed the reading exam in English or Spanish. During the first administration of the mathematics TAKS given in English, 83 percent of the students passed. Among the 5,233 students who took the math test in Spanish, 48 percent passed.
Those who failed will have another chance to pass the tests this summer. The eighth-grade math test will be given again on July 1 and the reading exam on July 2.
Students have five opportunities to pass the exam beginning with the spring of their junior year. Those who failed to pass in time for graduation this year can try again in July.
Any student held back because he or she did not pass the test can appeal to a grade placement committee made up of the principal, teacher and parent. To begin that process, parents can contact their child's local school.
You can see a detailed summary of state-level results here.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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