The Texas Education Agency assigned Bullard Independent School District an academically unacceptable accountability rating, but there is more to the rating than meets the eye.

“The label we received said academically unacceptable,” said BISD Superintendent Keith Bryant.” “For us it comes down to the completion rate.”

BISD received the TEA rating not because of failing any of the academic indicators. The rating was a result of the TEA’s standards regarding the completion rate among the 2009 senior class at Bullard High School.

Among the BISD campuses, Bullard Primary School and Bullard Elementary School received a rating of exemplary; Bullard Intermediate School received a recognized rating and Bullard Middle School received a rating of academically acceptable. Bullard High School was the only campus that received a rating of academically unacceptable.

However, TEA overall ratings are based on a district’s lowest indicator. The Abilene Independent School District, for example, received a rating of academically unacceptable despite the fact that no campus received an academically unacceptable rating.

For BISD, the academically unacceptable rating was a result of 20 students who left the district during their high school careers, including seven in the 2006-2007 school year, four in 2007-2008 and nine in 2008-2009. Of the 20 students, seven cannot be located, five later obtained their general education diploma, five are still working at obtaining their GED, one did not enroll at any other school and two have since received their high school diplomas.

According to Bryant, a student can attend BHS for three weeks and leave and never return or enroll at another school, and BISD will be held accountable in the TEA ratings.

“I do realize and understand the responsibility the district has in keeping these kids in school,” Bryant said. “But this is one indicator we have no control of at all.”

A student, for example, may get into trouble with the law. If the student is incarcerated, the district will be held responsible for the student’s education and subsequent completion rate. Even if the student eventually receives a diploma weeks after other students in his or her class, the district could still fail the completion rate standard set by TEA.

“We are accountable and there is a point we can’t control outside circumstances,” Bryant said. “We’re certainly displeased with the rating.”

In fact, Bryant said the district will appeal the rating with TEA. The appeal will be sent Friday, Aug. 13, but he said it will likely be sometime in October before the district will know the outcome of the appeal.

Bryant said the district takes the completion rate very seriously, and that parents who have students attending BISD should expect that.

“Based on academic progress, we should be rated recognized or exem- plary,” Bryant said.

The TEA’s academic indicators certainly support that statement. At BHS, of the 12 academic indicators the school is responsible for, nine were at the exemplary or 90 percent or higher level and three were at the recognized or 80 percent or higher level.

On the TAKS results, BHS students posted a 97 percent passing rate in reading, 98 percent passing rate in social studies, 92 percent passing rate in mathematics and 93 percent passing rate in science.

The completion rate for all students at BHS was 76.1 percent but was 74.7 percent for white students (or .03 percent under the academically unacceptable standard). The completion rate is the number of students who graduated in 2009 divided by the number of students who entered school in 2005-2006. Students who graduated out of state, received their GED after August 2009 or informed the district they were attending another school but never did, are counted as dropouts from the district. Even if a parent informs the school he or she will enroll their students in another school and never does, the district can still be held responsible for the student’s education.

For the district, TAKS results indicated 98 percent of all students passed reading, 97 percent passed writing, 99 percent passed social studies, 93 percent passed mathematics and 95 percent passed science. Of the 25 total academic indicators (which divides students by race and economic status), BISD students recorded better than 93 percent in all but four, the lowest of which was 83 percent.

Bryant said the district has taken steps to improve the completion rate, including moving to an 8- period day to allow students to take more electives; expanding the career and technology course offerings; hiring a second full-time high school counselor who will focus on students in danger of dropping out or those who have dropped out; placing at-risk students in classes that are non-traditional; and considering the oneto one technology initiative to allow students access to their education through laptop computers.