Public Schools

Navigating through public schools can sometimes be challenging to a parent who is unfamiliar with the jargon that educators throw around. We hope to provide you with some resources that may be helpful to you, particularly if your first child is getting ready to enter into Texas public schools.

Official Record of Teacher Certifications (State of Texas)

As a teacher, parents often asked me what Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) are and why they are important. Essentially TEKS are a set of curriculum guidelines for all the disciplines taught in public schools and for each grade-level. Texas teachers are expected to follow TEKS guidelines when developing their class syllabus. School districts often use TEKS to vertically align curriculum so that students passing from one grade level to the next have a sense of continuity in knowledge and skills acquired. The TEKS are also a way to horizontally align curriculum so that students studying the same topics receive the same depth of knowledge and skills, regardless of the classroom or school.

TEKS by subject areas (source: TEA)

Schools often boast if they are rated “exemplary.” What does that mean? Texas schools and districts are given scores (exemplary, recognized, academically acceptable, unacceptable) based on a variety of factors. How well did each demographic group perform on each TAKS subject test plays a major role in the school’s rankings. To move from a lower ranking to a higher one, the school must score a minimum percentage higher than the previous year for consideration. Many of these factors are just a subset of the factors which compute the school’s AEIS (Academic Excellence Indicator System) report. I like to think of the AEIS as the school’s transcript. Texas publishes also each school’s report card which only shows a portion of the AEIS report. School accountability ratings are like the medals which are awarded to the schools.

To make things even more complicated, the federal “No Child Left Behind” law requires that schools demonstrate progress in core subject areas (math, reading, and graduation for high school or attendance for elementary/middle). Texas schools also have adequate yearly progress reports.

AEIS reports containing school’s report cards
AEIS FAQ’s
Texas Education Agency’s accountability ratings website
Enter the school district’s name for accountability ratings (2004-2008)

To get an adequate sense of how well a school is performing, it is important to look not just at the accountability ratings, but consider also the AEIS reports and the the Adequate Yearly Progress reports. Also ask neighbors and friends whose children have recently attended the school.

Local school districts: