     AUSTIN –Eighty-four percent of fifth-grade students and 79 percent of eighth graders passed the math Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test on the first administration, the Texas Education Agency announced today.

     Test results reported today include both TAKS and TAKS (Accommodated) scores. Results reported prior to 2008 did not include TAKS (Accommodated), which was first administered in that year .

     To comply with federal requirements of No Child Left Behind, TAKS includes a form called TAKS (Accommodated) for special education students who meet eligibility criteria for specific accommodations. The TAKS (Accommodated) form includes accommodations such as larger print and fewer items per page, and contains no embedded field-test items. Many students who are receiving special education services take the TAKS (Accommodated) test.

     At fifth grade, 84 percent of the 327,055 students who took the TAKS or TAKS (Accommodated) math test in English passed and 44 percent earned Commended Performance.

     Of the 4,627 students who took the TAKS or TAKS (Accommodated) fifth-grade math exam in Spanish, 45 percent passed and 13 percent performed at the Commended Performance level.

     Among eighth-grade students, 79 percent of the 317,830 students tested passed the math TAKS or TAKS (Accommodated) test and 24 percent earning Commended Performance. There is not a Spanish language test available in this grade.

     While most students take TAKS or TAKS (Accommodated) tests, some students receiving special education services take an alternate assessment called TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M). This test is based on modified academic achievement standards.

     Among fifth-grade students who took TAKS-M, 74 percent of the 15,125 students tested passed the math exam and 18 percent earned the Commended Performance designation. At eighth grade, 64 percent of the 16,506 students who were tested on TAKS-M passed the math test and nine percent received Commended Performance.

     Students who failed the math test will have two additional opportunities, May 19 and June 30, to retest. |

     As part of the Texas Student Success Initiative, students in fifth and eighth grades must pass the math and reading TAKS tests to be promoted to the next grade. Under state law, students who fail these exams must be given extra instructional help.

     TAKS testing for other grades and subjects will continue as scheduled through Friday of this week. For schools or districts that have been closed due to the swine flu outbreak, testing will be rescheduled for a later date. Results from tests being taken this week are expected to be released in late May.

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Please contact your local school district for fifth and eighth-grade math results for your area.

Page last modified on 4/25/2010.

2009 March TAKS math results

Eighty-four percent of fifth-grade students and 79 percent of eighth-grade students pass TAKS math

Eighty-four percent of fifth-grade students and
79 percent of eighth-grade students pass TAKS math