Southeast Texas P-16 Council

More photos at Kids Kollege2

Kids Kollege 2, held yesterday at Lamar State College-Orange was a great success.  Approximately 36o students from throughout the Golden Triangle participated in the day of career exploration.  There were 12 career classes ranging from Solar Energy and Instrumentation to Nursing and Pharmacy Tech.  Fourteen Junior High or Intermediate schools from the region participated.

The students were all in 7th or 8th grade, the age at which students begin looking at career choices, choices of high school courses and what they want to study in college or in other post-secondary careers studies (trade school [such as ABC], military, apprenticeship, etc.)

Below students learn nursing skills at Kids Kollege2.

Students in the Solar Energy class, presented by LIT,  test out a solar panel project at Kids Kollege 2.

More photos on our Kids Kollege2 page.  We will be posting more photos and videos there in the coming days.

The vast majority of this year’s Texas fifth and eighth-grade students passed the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) mathematics and reading tests, meeting one of the requirements for promotion to the next grade.

Results released today show that 87% of the fifth-grade students who took the TAKS reading exam in English passed it on their first try, as did 76% of those who took the test in Spanish.

On the fifth-grade math test 86%  of those tested in English passed, while 49% of those testing in Spanish passed.This represents a two percentage point increase in the passing rate on the English reading exam over last year, while the passing rate on the mathematics test remained the same as in 2010.

Those testing in Spanish had a three-percentage-point increase in the passing rate on the reading test and five-percentage-point increase on the math test. At eighth grade, 89% of the students passed the reading test this year and 80% passed the math TAKS. The test is only available in English at this grade level.

In 2010, 91% of eighth-grade students passed the reading test, while 80% passed the math test. Students must pass both tests, as well as their classes, at these two grade levels in order to be promoted to the next grade under the state’s Student Success Initiative.

Students who failed the exam on the first administration have two more testing opportunities.  The math test for both grades will be given on May 17 and June 28. The reading test will be offered on May 18 and June 29.

Children who failed the tests will be offered additional instruction to help them strengthen their skills. Students who do not ultimately pass the math and reading TAKS will be retained in their current grade unless an appeal of the retention is successful.The Texas Education Agency currently has only statewide results for these exams.

Results for districts and campuses will be available from local districts and charter schools. The majority of the TAKS testing will occur this week. A testing calendar with details about the testing schedule is available online.