Report: Most students in Fort Worth not meeting testing requirements
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Nearly two out of three students in third through eighth grades across the City of Fort Worth aren't meeting grade level on state tests.
The finding came in a report delivered to the city council this week, breaking down student performance across the city, rather than individual districts or schools.
Although scores are up compared to last year, the 36% who met grade level on reading, math, science and social studies, is still behind the 2019 scores of 39%, before the pandemic.
The report from non-profit Fort Worth Education Partnership is intended to encourage more city participation in improving education, rather than assigning the job solely to school districts.
Organization president Brent Beasley compared it to a city council member pushing to get power restored or clean-up debris after a storm, even if they don't have any formal authority over the entities that help do that.
Instead of school districts, the report did break scores down by council districts. It found 25% of students meeting grade level in District 8, on the south and east side of the city. The high mark was 48% in District 7, on the far northwest side.
School districts have all put their own programs into place over the past two years to address learning impacted by the pandemic. They're often similar, adding weekend learning, tutoring, new reading or math specialists or additional training for staff.
There's room though for municipal leaders to add on to the efforts of schools, according to Crowley ISD Superintendent Dr. Michael McFarland. In a district where he said 85% of the students are probably in the City of Fort Worth, municipal leaders he said can have influence beyond district boundary lines.
"Elected officials normally have a reach across the city, and so we think that influence, that ability to pull people together, is much more valuable quite frankly," he said.
He pointed to their ability to draw non-profit groups, church groups, and community groups into the effort. Beasley gave examples of city council members going to school board meetings to express appreciation or concern over student outcomes, or going to Austin to lobby for additional funding.
As Fort Worth continues to climb in the rankings of the nations largest cities, and leaders look to attract companies and pursue economic growth, outcomes city-wide will continue to be important Beasley pointed out.
"The first thing everybody talks about is look at the school systems, and look at how kids are being educated."