Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Accountability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District presents TAPR data: graduation high, CCMR improving but lagging, revenue-per-student below state average
Summary
District officials presented TAPR highlights showing Lewisville ISD’s graduation rate above state and regional averages, a lower dropout rate and early signs of improvement in college- and career-readiness measures, while finance staff reported the district’s operating revenue per student trails the state average.
Lewisville ISD administration presented highlights from the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) and related accountability measures at the board’s Feb. 18 public hearing, focusing on graduation rates, CCMR (college, career and military readiness), subgroup results and district revenues versus state averages.
Dr. Fitzhugh, who led the TAPR presentation, told the board the district’s four-year graduation rate remains higher than the state and its region despite a small dip year-over-year, and that the district’s dropout rate fell from 1.0% to 0.9% for the cohort cited. He highlighted subgroup performance, including emergent bilingual students and those in special education, and noted the district’s emergent bilingual designation is “needs assistance” (determination level 2) primarily because of lower science and social studies STAAR results for that group.
On CCMR, Dr. Fitzhugh said the district has taken steps—expanded TSI testing after English III and Algebra II and increased CTE exploration—to lift performance and that results in 2022–23 show slight improvement but remain a lagging indicator because some initiatives take a year or two to affect accountability data.
District finance staff reported operating revenue per student (excluding recapture, debt service and certain items) was $10,760 for FY 2022–23, $2,063 below the state average. The presentation showed local property tax revenue is higher than state average because of local property values, but state operating funds were substantially lower. The board’s finance director explained that multiplying the $2,063 shortfall by the district enrollment figure produced an illustrative gap of about $101 million compared with the state average.
Board members pressed for cohort- and subgroup-level comparisons, and Dr. Fitzhugh said TEA’s public data download was not yet available for some statewide comparisons but that the district can obtain statewide cohort breakout once TEA releases the download. Trustees also discussed teacher experience and turnover: the district reported 16.3% turnover and noted a sizable share of that is retirements from its experienced teacher ranks.
Why it matters: The TAPR and related accountability snapshots guide district interventions, resource allocation and federal/state reporting. Graduation and dropout improvements are a focal point for trustees and the community; CCMR remains a priority because it is part of state accountability and affects students’ college and career readiness measures.
Next steps: Administration will continue targeted interventions for emergent bilinguals and subgroups identified as underperforming in science and social studies, track the impact of increased TSI testing and CTE strategies on CCMR over the next one to two years, and provide cohort-level state comparisons to trustees when TEA data are released.
Direct quote: “We are showing improvement and that’s one of the things we’re focusing on,” Dr. Fitzhugh said of CCMR progress.
