Three years ago, Bryan's Mitchell Elementary school received a rating of unacceptable from the Texas Education Agency because of student performance on state accountability tests.
That's why being recognized as a 2009 higher-performing school by the National Center for Educational Achievement is so significant, Principal Karen Kaspar said.
NCEA is an independent organization that aims to improve college and career readiness by providing educators with information and research that encourages rigorous learning.
Through its Just for Kids initiative, NCEA officials said, the organization works to recognize higher-performing schools within Texas based on three years of student data and demographics.
Efrain Mercado, director of outreach for NCEA, said being named a higher-performing school is different from other recognitions because schools are compared to other schools with similar demographics, as opposed to being compared to others schools in the district or state.
"It's about who's doing the best job, given their demographics," he said.
About 19 percent of Texas schools make the list, according to NCEA.
In Bryan, Bryan High School and Bowen, Sam Houston, Johnson and Mitchell elementary schools were recognized as higher-performing schools for their achievements.
A&M Consolidated High School, A&M Consolidated Middle School, Cypress Grove Intermediate School, and College Hills, Forest Ridge, Pebble Creek, Rock Prairie and South Knoll elementary schools were named higher-performing schools in College Station.
Becky Burghardt, director of curriculum for College Station schools, said being named to the list is not an accident but the result of teachers districtwide working to make sure that curriculum met state standards.
"We found that our campuses were not teaching the same things," she said. "We did a deep study of [state curriculum standards] so we could understand exactly what was supposed to be taught in each grade level."
Specialists were brought in to ensure teachers grasped the intent of state standards, she said, and teachers made major efforts to ensure their lessons were aligned.
"When you're aligned, it works," she said. "What's so beautiful about the way we're doing things is we're not teaching to the test, but teaching to the state standards."
Teachers in Bryan said they also worked to improve curriculum alignment, which is what they suspect put them in the ranking of higher performing.
Kaspar said her teachers meet regularly to ensure they're all on the same page in terms of what's being taught and how, she said.
The same strategies are practiced at Bryan High, said Diana Werner, the school's principal.
"I attribute reaching this achievement to the teaming that we do at Bryan High," she said. "Our teachers meet together every day and plan quality lessons together. They observe in each other's classroom. They spend a large amount of time ensuring that what they are teaching is aligned to the state curriculum and district curriculum."
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