NEWSRELEASE

Contact:Sandra Guerrero Libby Daniels(972) 925-3900

For Immediate Release:

May 27, 2009

RECORD NUMBER OF DALLAS SCHOOLS EXPECTED TO BEEXEMPLARY/RECOGNIZED

Number of Academically Unacceptable Schools Also Expected to Drop

DALLAS–

When state accountability ratings are released later this year, the Dallas Independent SchoolDistrict is expecting more schools than ever, including more than half of all campuses, to be ratedexemplary or recognized by the Texas Education Agency.A preliminary analysis by district staff of the 2009 administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills indicates that as many as 127 Dallas ISD schools will be rated either exemplary orrecognized, up from 103 this school year. The final ratings will include high school completion andmiddle school dropout rates, which have yet to be tabulated.The number of Dallas students passing the TAKS increased in every subject during 2009. Evenbetter, the number of students scoring at commended levels went up in every subject.

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Preliminary calculations also indicate that the number of academically unacceptable schoolsdropped for the second consecutive year. Based upon TAKS scores, the number of unacceptablecampuses will likely be 14, down from 21 in 2008 and 27 in 2007.“While this has been a challenging school year, the dedicated staff members at our campuseshave kept the focus where it needed to be—on academics,” said Superintendent of Schools MichaelHinojosa. “This is very encouraging news and is the result of enormously hard work by staff at everylevel, but especially teachers and principals at our schools.”

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The TAKS results mean that, for the first time, more than half of all Dallas ISD campuses will be ratedeither exemplary or recognized. Under current calculations, the number of exemplary campuses willlikely rise from 26 to 43. The number of recognized campuses will increase from 77 to 84.In addition, for the first time, six comprehensive high schools are on target to be rated asrecognized by the Texas Education Agency, prior to the completion rates inclusion on finalaccountability ratings. Those high schools are W.H. Adamson, Moises E. Molina, Thomas Jefferson, H.Grady Spruce, Sunset and W.T. White.“This is a testament to the determination at these high schools, each of which is led by verycapable, committed principals,” said Hinojosa. “Their recognized ratings were assisted, in part, by anew student level growth component called the Texas Projection Measure, which factors in improved

performance in various subject areas. It does not in any way diminish the accomplishments at thesecampuses.”The number of Dallas students performing at commended levels continued to rise, indicating thatmore students than ever are scoring well above passing levels and are on track for attending college.“From the outset, we have made it clear that the TAKS test is not the ceiling that schools shouldstrive for, but the floor,” said Hinojosa. “Commended levels are what we want our students to achieveand to see more of them scoring at these levels is very rewarding. This is a better measure of thedistrict’s trend upward.”At the beginning of this school year, Dallas ISD had 12 schools that had been listed asacademically unacceptable for more than one year. Eight of those schools scored high enough to benamed academically acceptable during 2009 and two of them, H. Grady Spruce High School and BirdieAlexander Elementary School, are on target to be named recognized campuses.

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“The efforts at these campuses needs to be noticed,” said Hinojosa. “Spruce, Samuell andBirdie Alexander are the best examples of putting in hard work to raise student achievement levels butthere are 8 other schools that did the same thing—schools like Roosevelt and Conrad. The educators atthese campuses did a terrific job this school year and it is gratifying to see these positive results.”