We've been saying very consistently for two years now that we'll only be happy with school accountability ratings when the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is dead and buried and educators have a better test to work with.

Do we look happy? Nope. Not only is TAKS is alive and well, but teachers, principals and administrators will still have to rely on it as the academic yardstick to measure their work for another couple of years.

Under the current system, every school and district in the state is graded based on annual TAKS scores and student dropout rates, with exemplary being the top rating. State ratings are anxiously awaited by superintendents, teachers and parents because they are the chief measure of how well schools are educating their students.

Educators and parents increasingly have voiced dissatisfaction with the grading system that was first implemented in 1994.

In this year's regular legislative session, lawmakers didn't replace TAKS, opting instead to modify it. They made some changes to state accountability laws addressing consequences for students with poor performance and how schools and districts are rated in August. Some changes are immediate, and others wouldn't go in effect until 2010.

Low-performing districts can face sanctions including the mandatory closing of campuses.

A bill passed by the legislature and approved after review by the governor eliminates the promotion requirements for third grade in future years. However, the bill leaves the existing requirements in place for fifth and eighth-grade students.

Although the final TAKS scores will not be revealed until August, the preliminary raw scores available now are generally encouraging to officials at Lubbock County school districts.

"This year's scores were equal or higher than last year's scores," said Pam Leftwich, student assessment coordinator of the Lubbock Independent School District.

Passing rates of students in Frenship, Lubbock-Cooper and Roosevelt public schools were approaching 100 percent or high 90s in several categories. Public schools in Abernathy, Idalou, New Deal, Shallowater, and Slaton also posted upper-level scores.

"It seems that each time the Legislature raises the standards, Lubbock and the other school districts in the county rise to the challenge," wrote Denzil Minyard, a retired LISD elementary principal, in response to the news. "Teachers and principals, a job well done."

The final scores that will be released in August will be adjusted by the state in several different ways from the raw scores available now. In most instances, the scores will be higher after the adjustments, reported the A-J's Joe Gulick.

"Performance has improved at most grade levels and in most subjects this year," said Robert Scott, Texas Commissioner of Education. "I applaud both our students and our teachers who stayed focused on academics and thus were well prepared for the TAKS this spring."

Editorials represent the opinion of The Avalanche-Journal Editorial Board, which consists of Publisher Stephen A. Beasley, Editor Terry Greenberg, Editorial Page Editor Joe Hughes, editorial writer Joe Gulick, in addition to input provided by community advisory board members Adrienne Cozart, Irasema Velasquez and Dee Jay Wilde.