AISD trustees review college, career and military readiness data; administration to tighten outreach and supports

AUSTIN — Austin Independent School District trustees on Thursday reviewed the district's college, career and military readiness (CCMR) scorecard and pressed administrators for clearer plans to turn academic readiness into actual postsecondary enrollment and industry placement.

"All students will graduate college, career, and life ready," said Dr. Chris McFadden, executive director for ECA, ECHS and P-TECH initiatives, as he opened the presentation on scorecard goal 3 and related goal progress measures.

The presentation focused on three measures used by the district: (1) a district scorecard indicator that counts graduates who meet one or more CCMR indicators (military enlistment, postsecondary enrollment or approved industry-based certifications), (2) the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college-readiness measure and (3) the district's distinguished-level graduate rates. The district reported that for the 2019 graduating cohort its CCMR indicator measured 77 percent — one percentage point below the district's 78 percent target — while the TSI measure exceeded the district goal: 73 percent met TSI criteria against a 62 percent target.

Administrators said the TSI gains reflect district efforts to give students multiple opportunities to prepare and test. "We're going to give them multiple…