District suspends 15% course grade rule

January 15, 2013, 11:00 am by Adam Troxtell

Students in the Marble Falls school district will not have end of course exams (EOCs) count for 15 percent of their final grade after the school board passed a resolution waiving the requirement.

This is the second year the Marble Falls ISD school board has suspended the requirement after the state gave school districts the authority to do so.

"We passed the same resolution last year,” Superintendent Robert O’Connor said. "Again, this year the commissioner has allowed us to suspend that 15 percent requirement, and we would suspend that until we learn more about the accountability system from the state.”

At the end of November, Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams suspended the 15 percent mandate, allowing school districts to choose whether or not they want to implement it for the upcoming spring assessment exams. The announcement was warmly welcomed by area school districts who are still transitioning from the old Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests to the knew State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) system.

The school board also extended O'Connor's contract after executive session in their Tuesday night meeting. O'Connor now has five years on his current deal.

For the full story, see Friday's Highlander.