Crawford Questions New TEA Data on Local Schools

TYLER — Some East Texas schools are in need of intervention according to the Texas Education Agency. But KETK reports at least one local school official questions the report, which is based on reading and math scores as well as graduation rates. The TEA used data from the 2016 accountability report to place schools into categories regarding their need for intervention. In Tyler, Dogan Middle School, Griffin Elementary, Jones Elementary, and Robert E. Lee High Schools are listed as priority and focus schools. But TISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford says, “What’s really puzzling and a little bit comical is one school on the list actually received six out of seven academic distinctions from the state of Texas.”

Crawford continues, “Our schools that are struggling, you know on one part of this list, we already identified those. This was from 15-16 school year data. Lagging data always presents a problem because you’re comparing apples to oranges. And again this is another example of why accountability needs to be a little bit more accurate if we’re truly going to use it to assist students.” Crawford says locally, they know more about their students than the state does when it comes to these reports. and they are implementing programs for improvement all the time.