The Austin Chamber of Commerce released its 2012 Education Progress Reports on April 3, providing business owners, educators and parents with a snapshot of what is happening in local school districts.

Kwee Lan Teo Yam, vice president of education and talent alignment for the chamber, said that for the past eight years, the chamber has partnered with school districts and other Central Texas chambers to compile reports of student performance data relevant to the business community.

"This is the cohort that's entering the workforce or is already in the workforce," Teo Yam said. "This is what your businesses and your community can get to hire. Is it a community of students that have generally pursued some form of post-secondary education? How many graduate within four years? And if you hire them, are they going to need remedial math [refresher classes]?"

Questions such as these matter to local businesses as well as to companies considering relocating to Austin, she said, and the reports can be used to gauge the health of a district.

The reports cover 11 school districts, including Hays and San Marcos CISDs, using data from the 2011–12 school year.

The full reports can be accessed at www.austinchamber.com/edureports.

REACTIONS TO THE REPORTS

"Our graduation rates are improving. That's something that we can definitely be proud of. I think our ability to educate the students and have them ready for college is another thing that we definitely are proud of." —Carter Scherff, interim Hays CISD superintendent

"SMCISD has set targets for improving its first-year STAAR scores and looks forward to improving as we learn more about the newer, more rigorous test ... while closing the achievement gaps between subgroups of students." —Greg Rodrguez, San Marcos CISD director of accountability and school improvement

"Education allows the community to grow. It also provides a stream of future employees in the workforce. [San Marcos CISD] has shown continual improvement and growth." —Brian Bondy, San Marcos Chamber of Commerce president

"There are challenges up ahead of us. ... But just knowing that we're engaged and we're working together creates a blueprint for us to do the task in a positive way." —Ray Hernandez, former Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce executive director