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Texas School District Performance Analysis Geospatial analysis offers a way to obtain a visual understanding of school district performance by integrating test score data with demographics of neighborhoods and the school district community. This section describes use of a GIS (geographic information system) project/toolset focused on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) data and Texas school and school district performance.
Join us in a Web Meeting. Participate in a one-hour session to learn about TXSDP features and use. There is no cost. View instructor screen on your computer. All you need is Internet access and a phone to participate in a conference call. See how you can benefit from using these tools. We will look at your school district, schools, and review demographic characteristics of your neighborhoods. Register here -- let us know of your interest and we will contact you with information on schedule options. About TAKS. TAKS tests are taken by most Texas public school students in spring of each year during grades 3-11. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides detailed information as to how each school district and school in Texas performed on the 2006 TAKS via the Website http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/2006/index.html.
Data presented in maps referenced here are based on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills 2006 test for grades 3-11 at the Panel Recommended performance level. These data are used to assess how school districts are improving, or not, by grade and subjects. Data from these results are used to help evaluate and plan instruction for the coming school year and beyond. Using GIS to Analyze Patterns. To facilitate analysis of these data, several GIS (geographic information system) projects have been developed. These projects have been set up in a ready-to-use structure with the CommunityViewer software (CV -- http://proximityone.com/cv.htm). A description of the GIS projects is located here: http://proximityone.com/txsdp_projects.htm. 
Download and install the CommunityViewer software and TAKS 2006 project files on your Windows
computer and view the maps.
Register for access to the software and project files. Using these projects, you can create your own map views with specialized zooms, labels, and other custom settings. Additional data can be added to the projects for schools, school districts or other types of geography. Drill down to the school level as shown in the map at the right. See the links in the left section of this page for more information. Benefits and Applications. Using these tools, you can answer questions such as:
For the performance layers, interval classifications have been preset in a manner meaningful to classifying the students by performance. You can modify these intervals usiing the CV software and project files on your own computer. See the links in the left panel for more information about performance interval settings. The preset values for the performance intervals are Exemplary, Recognized, Acceptable, Unacceptable and Masked. School District Performance and Economic Development. Quality schools are an important element to successful economic development programs. Businesses and households are interested in locating in areas with good schools. Geographic information systems and school system performance data provide insights into relationships between school districts and county areas that are difficult to assess with other tools. School district performance measures have inherently limited, though important, "inferential use" for economic development. Test score data are one type of measure in a set of key indicators that needs to be assessed to track, examine or help facilitate economic development. The real power of the GIS is enabled when this "map layer" (school district by test score) is used with other types of demographic and economic measures. In addition, using the GIS, it becomes easier to "drill down" a) by geography (such as census tract) and b) by subject matter (such as alternative test universe tabulations). Demographic Factors Affecting Performance. Counties, cities, and school district areas can be subdivided into census blocks, block groups and census tracts (among others) to gain further insights into their internal composition. Census block groups (BGs) are the smallest geographic area for which "richer demographics" are tabulated. There are 14,482 BGs in Texas. The TAKS project files are provided with a Texas by block group (areas averaging 1,000 population) demographics file and a Texas by census tracts (areas averaging 4,000 population and groups of block groups) demographics file. The start-up view of the block groups layer uses median household income as a measure of economic prosperity. The start-up view of the census tracts layer uses percent population in poverty as a challenge factor measure. The subject matter selection and intervals may be changed. By using the block group and census tract demographics data, insights can be gained into why some districts have higher TAKS test scores than others. Lower test scores are not a good indicator of poorer instructional programs nor poor educational opportunities for students in districts with lower scores. Next Steps. Methods and tools described here provide an effective way to assess school district performance, in the context of demographics, for any Texas school district or region and how that district or region compares to others. These same tools can be used to "drill down" to one or a set of schools. To do this requires the geocoding of student data so that the student level data can be integrated with the other geospatial data. By representing geocoded students as points or marker on a map, patterns can be revealed and help identify actions that can be taken to improve performance at the student, class and school level. How do you assess the impact of student mobility on performance? Students entering the district, moving out of the district or moving within the district can result in confusing data when viewed as counts or tables. Analyze changing patterns by viewing student markers on maps. Better understand where and how change is taking place. Identify ways to modify and manage programs to more effectively improve student/school performance. Proximity works with schools, school districts and stakeholder organizations to develop and update the required data and integrate the data into an accessible and usable structure. Contact us for more information. 12/18/06 Updates. These updates have been made effective 12/18/06:
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