The Texas Education Agency last week released accountability ratings for the 2009-2010 school year. Lampasas Independent School District received an “academically unacceptable” rating because of a coding error at Lampasas Middle School, according to Superintendent Randy Hoyer.

The district will appeal the coding error to the TEA immediately, said Hoyer.

Taylor Creek Elementary School received the state’s highest rating of “exemplary,” and Lampasas High School and Hanna Springs Elementary received a rating of “recognized.”

Kline Whitis Elementary was listed as “academically acceptable,” while LMS was rated “academically unacceptable.”

Hoyer said a preliminary investigation indicates that 13 seventhand eighth-grade students who left the district during the 2008-2009 school year were given an incorrect “leaver code” resulting in a 2.3 percent calculated dropout rate.

The TEA requires dropout rates not to exceed 1.8 percent.

“Factually, LMS did not have any dropouts and should have reported a 0 percent dropout rate,” said the superintendent. Had the coding error not occurred, the district would have received a rating of “recognized,” and the middle school would have been “academically acceptable,” he said.

Said Hoyer: “I want to express to the community not to take this rating as a negative on the academic accomplishments of our students. The rating is the result of incorreect data input and has nothing to do with academics.

“The district achieved significant academic gains this past year. The students, teachers, support staff, administration and parents worked hard this year to achieve the academic gains that were made.”