Lake Highlands High School isn’t the only school in Texas appealing its TEA rating. In fact, the number of schools and districts filing appeals doubled this year – the first year that dropout rates were considered in the ratings equation.
LHHS was named Academically Acceptable, despite test scores reaching into the Recognized and Exemplary ranges. The culprit? In one demographic group, two too many students were designated “dropouts.” When one population of students has dropouts in the Acceptable range the entire school drops to that category.
LHHS staff has gone into detective mode, trying to locate and account for enough students to push us back over that line. But they face an uphill battle. According to a Dallas Morning News story this weekend, 60 percent of last year’s appeals were rejected. And LHHS will have to stand in line behind the other 180 schools and districts who filed appeals this year.
Principal Walter Kelly expects LH to be successful in the appeals process. “We believe several students have not been appropriately categorized,” he said in a statement when ratings were released. “LHHS has made great strides this year academically and regarding our completion rates. We have closed achievement gaps by as great at 21% in one year, and we will apply the same diligence and skill to increasing our completion rate.”
