By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer

The Eanes school district did well in the contest for 2008 Gold Performance Acknowledgements from the Texas Education Agency. The acknowledgements are a component of the state’s accountability system. Started in 2001, the GPAs recognize public school districts and campuses for high performance. 

As a district, Eanes earned acknowledgements in 10 of the 12 areas of consideration. The school district received nods of recognition for its advanced courses; recommended high school plan; student performances on SAT and ACT tests; and the percentage of students scoring in the commended ranges for reading/English language arts, mathematics, writing and social studies. 

“We were one of only 12 districts in the entire state to earn at least 10 (acknowledgements),” curriculum and instruction assistant superintendent Bill Bechtol told school board members at a recent meeting. “All six of our elementary schools received (acknowledgements for) commended performance in all four tested areas.”

The district was also lauded for comparable improvement in reading, language arts and math. Comparable improvement awards are given  for improvement in individual student performances from one year to the next. Three elementary schools earned recognition in the area in reading and three in math. Eanes Elementary School won GPAs in both areas. The only performance area for which the district’s elementary schools did not receive acknowledgement was attendance.  

“We are always happy to get recognized for the large percentage of kids who receive commended awards,” Bechtol said. “Beginning in the third grade, we have a strong percentage of students scoring at the commended level, which really shows that they understand all the curriculum and have mastered grade-level requirements.”

At the district’s secondary level, Hill Country Middle School earned all five gold performance acknowledgements for commended Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, attendance and comparable improvement in reading and language arts. West Ridge Middle School received all five GPAs in commended student TAKS scores and the comparable improvement award.

Westlake High School was awarded GPAs for the percentage of students completing advanced courses, and for comparable improvement in reading/English language arts and math. Students also earned the school a GPA for commended performances in reading/ELA, math and social studies.

 “We have a very large set of AP courses,” Bechtol said. 

He said 65 percent of WHS students at junior and senior levels took advanced placement tests. He said 84 percent of those students scored high enough to earn college credit. 

“Our kids are on a journey from kindergarten through graduation,” Bechtol said. “What happens at high school – the number of kids that take AP classes, the AP results, the number of students signing up for the recommended high school program – that all begins in elementary school and it really prepares kids to be successful in college.”

Bechtol said the district also pays attention to the areas where it does not earn GPA awards. This year, only HCMS received acknowledgement for attendance and the district did not receive a GPA for science test scores.

“We very much want to get a GPA for commended levels in science,” Bechtol said. 

The district now offers a TAKS science class for students at WHS who do not perform well on the state standardized test. 

“The interesting thing about science is that the first time TAKS tests occur in the subject is in fifth grade, but that test covers a lot of material students covered in second, third and fourth grade,” Bechtol said. “The next science test is at eighth grade, and that test covers sixth- and seventh-grade curriculum material.”

To earn a GPA for attendance, a district must have an average attendance of 96 percent districtwide and in all subgroups.

While Eanes has a districtwide average of 96 percent, it fell below the 96 percent threshold in Hispanic and economically disadvantaged subgroups.