The pressure is on for students at G.L. Wiley Middle School, as their scores on state exams this spring could make or break the school’s future.

Wiley earned its fourth “academically unacceptable” rating from the Texas Education Agency last fall, and the school was under the threat of closure. Waco school district officials were required to develop a contingency plan in the case of closure, but Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott granted the campus another year to get state test scores up to par.

“It will depend on how they do this spring, but they’re still under the possibility of the most severe penalty of closing their campus,” said TEA spokeswoman De Etta Culbertson.

Wiley principal Kermit Ward said he feels certain that the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests that his kids are taking this year will spring the school from the jaws of closure. District officials are confident Wiley will finally clear that hurdle of being rated “acceptable” as well.

“As far as the district is concerned, after looking at benchmark tests and (sample) TAKS tests, they will be, at a minimum, “academically acceptable,” said Waco ISD spokesman Dale Caffey.

Caffey said in March, 86.9 percent of Wiley eighth-graders passed the first administration of the reading TAKS test. Last year, on the same test, 84 percent passed.

Though his school isn’t completely in the clear yet, Ward said he’s glad to see that expectations of Wiley have changed in the last few years.

“In the past, it was automatically assumed we were going to be low-performing,” he said. “At least people ask the question now whether we’re going to be (rated) ‘acceptable.’ ”

On the campus, expectations are up as well. Ward said his staff and his students are definitely feeling the pressure behind making the grade this year, and he says it’s a good thing. Life is filled with pressure, he said, and his kids need to experience some of that stress.

“For so long, it wasn’t relative to them, and their scores reflected it,” he said.

Wiley only needs to bring its rating up to “acceptable” to get it out of immediate hot water, but Ward believes the school can do better than that.

“I won’t be surprised if we make ‘recognized,’ ” he said.

wgragg@wacotrib.com

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