Houston ISD high school outperforms KIPP Academy

On the 2009 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exam, the Houston Independent School District's internal charter school, East Early College High School, outperformed students from the the KIPP Houston High School.

Both schools received exemplary ratings from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), but KIPP was given this rating only because TEA converted some failed Mathematics tests, taken by its African-American students, to passing for purposes of school accountability.

Scores for students from both schools were very similar on the Reading and Social Studies exams, with 98% or more students passing.

On the Mathematics tests, 98% of all East Early College test takers passed compared to 92% of KIPP students. Among Hispanic students 97% at the East Early College passed while 93% did the same at KIPP. In the group of students categorized as economically disadvantaged, 98% passed the Math TAKS at East Early College, and 92% of KIPP students passed.

On the Science TAKS, 98% of East Early College kids passed relative to 91% of KIPP students. Hispanic East Early College students passed at a rate of 98%, while 93% did so at KIPP.

KIPP fell below exemplary in only two categories. Its African-American students did not reach the 90% passing requirement in either Mathematics or Science.

East Early College High School is part of HISD's East Region. It is a cooperative venture of HISD, the Houston Community College-Southeast Campus, and the Gates Foundation. It is housed on the southeast campus of the Houston Community College.