Texarkana Independent School District held a public hearing on the district's financial accountability during the regular Board of Trustees meeting last week. The district received the highest rating possible on the Texas Education Agency's Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas report. For the past 14 years, TISD has achieved top ratings, and was named as Superior for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
Trustees also heard a student academic performance report outlining the Distinction Designations the district received on the preliminary state Accountability Ratings for 2016.
Wes Kirkham, executive director for Instructional Services told the board there are 22 state assessments in math, writing, reading and social studies.
"Given this many assessments, TISD is leading teachers through a thorough analysis of the state-released assessments and using student performance data to make instructional decisions and to create action plans," Kirkham said in a press release.
Overall, the district received 19 Distinction designations. Morriss Elementary received six, Texas High School received five, Nash Elementary has three, Spring Lake Park Elementary and Wake Village Elementary each received two, and Highland Park Elementary received one.
The designations include Academic Achievement, Top 25 Percent in Student Progress, Top 25 Percent in Closing Performance Gaps and Post-secondary Readiness.
Kirkham also outlined the success of the Advanced Placement program, which allows students to earn college credit while in high school. Twenty-five AP courses are offered at Texas High, along with 32 pre-AP preparation courses offered at both Texas High and Texas Middle School. Currently, 967 students are enrolled in the courses, an increase of 340 since 2010.
The program also saw an increase in the number of students being named AP Scholars, with 64 students earning the title, a 31-percent increase
from 2015. Two students were also named AP National Scholars.
Kirkham also reported the district's average ACT score of 21.0 is above the state average of 20.6, and the district's average SAT score of 1080 also exceeds the state average of 944.
Scholarships were also covered in the report, with Kirkham stating that Texas High's Class of 2016 received $17,424,331 in scholarship offers, an increase of 5 percent from last year. More than a fourth of the class also attained the Distinguished Achievement Program
level, the highest diploma a student can earn. It requires advanced course work to reflect college or professional-level skills plus advanced measures including high AP test scores, a research project, earning Commenced Scholar level or higher on the PSAT and a grade of 3.0 or higher in dual credit courses.
Trustees also approved the 2016 Bowie Central Appraisal District total tax levy of $27,310,580.50. The total taxable value of $1,974,870,987 is up from last year's $1,904,258,396.