More than 90% of 3rd-, 5th-graders pass TAKS promotion test

More than 90% of 3rd-, 5th-graders pass TAKS promotion test
Students who failed will likely advance with parents' appeal

07:34 AM CDT on Thursday, July 20, 2006


By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News


AUSTIN – More than 95 percent of third-graders and nearly 91 percent of fifth-graders have been promoted after passing the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills this year, but thousands of other students who failed the exam are depending on appeals by their parents to avoid flunking.

Results released Wednesday by the Texas Education Agency indicated that 13,178 third-graders could not pass the reading section of the TAKS after three opportunities – a state requirement to be promoted to the fourth grade.

However, state law also allows parents to appeal their child's retention, and most parents do. A student who has failed the TAKS can still be promoted with the approval of the principal, teacher and parent.

Past studies have indicated the majority of third-graders who fail the TAKS are allowed to move to the fourth grade with their peers because of parental appeals.

Fifth-graders are required to pass both the math and reading sections of the exam to be promoted. A total of 26,480 students in fifth grade (9 percent) failed the reading section of the TAKS, while 21,019 students (7.1 percent) failed the math section.

A majority of fifth-graders who failed also are expected to get around the test requirement through appeals by their parents.

Passing percentages remained about the same as last year for third-graders, while there was slight improvement for fifth-graders. Scores on Spanish versions of the exams improved for both third- and fifth-graders.

This was the second year that fifth-graders fell under a state law aimed at curtailing social promotion – the practice of automatically passing students regardless of achievement – by requiring them to pass the state achievement test. It was the fourth year that third-graders have had to meet the tougher promotion standard.

Stakes on the TAKS are highest for third- and fifth-graders, who must pass to be promoted, and for high school seniors, who must pass to be awarded a diploma.

A study by the Texas Education Agency last year indicated that the number of retentions in third grade has increased only slightly under the new promotion standards, which went into effect in 2003. The study showed that 46.4 percent of students who failed the test actually repeated the third grade. The rest were promoted after their parents successfully appealed.

State education officials have attributed the low failure rate to teacher training and reading intervention programs that begin in kindergarten and continue through the early elementary grades.

E-mail tstutz@dallasnews.com


TAKS PASSING RATES

Here are the passing rates on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for the past year. Third-graders must pass the TAKS reading test to be promoted, while fifth-graders must pass both the reading and math tests:

Ethnic or racial group 3rd-grade reading 5th-grade reading 5th-grade math
Blacks 91% 85% 85%
Hispanics 94% 87% 91%
Whites 98% 97% 97%
Asians 99% 97% 99%

SOURCE: Texas Education Agency

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-taks_20tex.ART.State.Edition1.22e4238.html