The number of campuses and school districts receiving the state's highest "exemplary" rating more than doubled this year, while the number of districts performing poorly also reached a high point.

Both trends were caused by two major changes in the state's school ratings rules. One tweak helped schools by considering some students as passing state tests who did not. But tougher new dropout standards caused some schools and districts problems.

Without either of the changes, the number of best- and worst-rated Texas campuses would have remained virtually unchanged.

School ratings are closely watched, as they are considered marks of quality that matter to parents, lawmakers, campus educators and neighborhood reputations. Ratings are based mainly on TAKS scores and how many students stay in school.

A report from the Texas Education Agency shows that 73 districts and charter operators and 1,111 campuses were rated "exemplary" only because they benefited from the so-called Texas Projection Measure, which overlooks failing scores if students are predicted to pass in the future.

The Dallas school district, for example, was helped by the projection measure -- with 40 percent of 201 campuses ranked "acceptable" or higher because of the new rule, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis.

Advocates say the measure is fairer to struggling campuses and students because it gives credit for big improvements, but critics say it waters down the meaning of coveted ratings such as "exemplary" and "recognized."

State Education Commissioner Robert Scott on Friday gave full credit to the new adjustment factor in helping schools jump in the ratings, but he also noted the change was approved by both the federal government and the Texas Legislature this year. He added that the projection numbers are proving to be very accurate predictions where they've been checked out.

"I know there has been some concern [about the measure], and I share that concern," Scott said at a briefing. "It is going to help schools in their ratings. But I don't want it to help too much, and I don't want it to create a false impression of excellence when the performance is not there. We will continue to monitor the data, and if it doesn't bear out [the results], we won't use it."

Of about 1,100 North Texas schools rated "acceptable" or higher, nearly 400 got a boost from the new measure, according to an analysis by The News.

But the measure didn't keep Dallas' Spruce High School off the low-performing list.

Spruce received the state's lowest rating of "academically unacceptable" for a fifth straight year. The campus was affected by the stricter way of counting dropouts.

The Pleasant Grove school faced closure if its rating did not improve, but the state gave it permission to open this year.

DISD officials say Spruce was spared because of big gains on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test and a major restructuring of the campus last school year that allowed only incoming freshmen and graduating seniors who wished to return. Also, the completion rate is based on 2007-08 information, before the school reorganized.

DISD projected that Spruce would receive the state's second highest rating -- "recognized."

Scott said he plans to talk to the district about its plans for Spruce. He said the school would be "subject to closure" if it doesn't get off the state's low-performing list next year.

Samuell High School, which remained on the state's low-performing list for four consecutive years, became "academically acceptable."

Scott said two factors contributed to the high number of "unacceptable" campuses -- low scores on the TAKS science test and the tougher dropout standards. The number of "unacceptable" school districts jumped from 32 to 87 -- a record in the history of the Texas accountability system, according to TEA.

The commissioner gave school districts a break the past two years by delaying implementation of the new dropout standards -- based on the new federal definition of a dropout. But the reprieve was lifted this year and 48 districts dropped to "unacceptable" because of it.

"We set a very high standard on dropouts this year, but I am still not happy with a standard that only requires 75 percent of students to complete high school," he said.

The dropout rule had an impact on McKinney ISD, a suburban Collin County district used to high state ratings. McKinney High School received the "unacceptable" rating because of completion rates for Hispanic and low-income students, district officials said. McKinney school officials plan to appeal the rating.

Richardson ISD, which had predicted that all of its schools would be at least "recognized," had one school fall to "acceptable" because of the dropout rate. Lake Highlands High School fell two students short of an 85 percent graduation rate for Hispanics, Richardson schools spokesman Tim Clark said. The district also plans to appeal the rating.

In Dallas, the number of schools rated "recognized" and "exemplary" increased from 103 to 128. At the same time, the number of "academically unacceptable" schools increased slightly from 21 to 22, in large part because of the completion rate rule, the district says.

Dallas schools Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said in a news release that some ratings would be appealed, but did not name the schools. Overall, Hinojosa said, the TEA ratings "are a fairly accurate assessment" of where DISD is right now.

Staff writers Sam Hodges and Jeffrey Weiss contributed to this story.

The Garland district is celebrating its improved "recognized" status. Officials said the district was helped by the new Texas Projection Measure. And the district's high school completion rate was more than 85 percent in all schools across all student groups, so that factor did not pull the district's rating down. Overall, the district has 33 "exemplary" campuses, 20 "recognized" and 13 "academically acceptable" schools.

Karel Holloway

The McKinney ISD plans to appeal McKinney High's rating of "unacceptable," an embarrassing turn of events for the suburban Collin County district. Superintendent Tom Crowe said the rating was due to high school completion rates for Hispanic and low-income students. But those rates, he said, are owed to a handful of coding errors by McKinney High officials as they tracked students. He said the district accepts responsibility and has put in systems to avoid more mistakes. "It is a real shame that one indicator has caused this rating," Crowe said.

Sam Hodges

The Lancaster school district received an unusual "unacceptable" rating because of a high dropout rate among middle school students. The district reported a 2.1 percent annual dropout rate for seventh- and eighth-graders. The state requires a rate of no more than 2 percent.

Holly K. Hacker

The district slid to an "academically acceptable" rating this year from a "recognized" rating the previous year. The district has flip-flopped between those two ratings for several years. The district did not meet required improvement on high school completion rates for Hispanic students.

Katherine Leal Unmuth

Normally, the Texas Education Agency releases school-by-school TAKS scores during the summer, before school ratings come out. This year, the state's test score release has been delayed because of retesting related to the swine flu. A date for the 2008-09 results has not been set.

Completion rates take on new meaning, as they are now figured into Texas school ratings. Here is a sampling of the area's latest district rates, which were released Friday.

Note: The completion rate is the percentage of students graduating from high school in four years or continuing in high school for a fifth year.

SOURCE: Texas Education Agency

Statewide, 88 percent of the Class of 2008 graduated from high school four years after the start of their freshman year or were enrolled for a fifth year. This year, the following students are now counted as dropouts.

Those who fail the TAKS graduation test. About one in seven seniors failed the exam last year.

Those who return for a fifth year of high school, but fail to show up during the first month of the new school year. Previously, students could return any time during the fall semester.

Those enrolled in GED programs but who have not received their GED. Previously, students in GED classes were not counted as dropouts.

SOURCE: Texas Education Agency