AUSTIN, Texas—UT Elementary School, a public charter school in East Austin operated by The University of Texas at Austin, has been rated as an “exemplary” school by the Texas Education Agency based on its Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores for spring 2007.
Dr. Ramona Treviño, the school’s principal, said the testing involved students in the school’s third and fourth grades. The school plans to add a fifth grade class to its program for the 2007-08 academic year.
An exemplary rating means all student groups on the campus had 90 percent or more of their students pass each subject of the TAKS. The TAKS is given to students in grades 3-11 and covers English language arts/reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies. The subjects tested vary at each grade level.
At least 90 percent passing also is required on the SDAA II, which is a test given to students with disabilities.
“Hook’em Little Horns,” Treviño said, referring to the nickname for the school’s students. “This is a big deal! It’s hard to believe we did this in only our second year of statewide testing. I’m just really proud of this rating. It represents the solid research provided by The University of Texas at Austin, which helped our students achieve this ranking for the school.”
Treviño said the testing results showed that 94 percent of the UT Elementary School’s third and fourth grade students passed reading, 94 percent passed writing and 93 percent passed mathematics.
UT Elementary School, which opened in August 2003 at 2200 E. 6th St., is managed by The University of Texas at Austin and operates as an open-enrollment school providing services to children in east Austin.
Treviño said UT Elementary School is an integral part of The University of Texas System’s initiative to improve public education in Texas. The school enrolls students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grades and will reach its capacity in fall 2007 when fifth grade is added.
The Texas Education Agency, in a press release today (Aug. 1), said this year 637 schools or 7.9 percent of the campuses in the state earned the prestigious Exemplary rating, compared to 546 schools or 7.1 percent with the top rating in 2006. These 637 schools educate more than 340,000 students.
For more information contact: Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.
