AUSTIN, Texas — A bill that would eliminate high stakes testing was filed in the Texas House this week and has been widely supported by local elected officials and school districts.
AUSTIN, Texas — A bill that would eliminate high stakes testing was filed in the Texas House this week and has been widely supported by local elected officials and school districts.
State Representative Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa) has filed legislation to effectively repeal the STAAR test by eliminating the requirement to use public school assessment instruments as a criterion for promotion or graduation or to make certain accountability determinations.
House Bill 736, authored by Landgraf, seeks to eliminate current testing systems, like the STAAR test, from being used as high-stakes, one-sized-fits-all substitutes for real accountability measures.
"The state's attempt to ensure academic readiness and hold school districts accountable for student achievement through standardized state-wide testing has failed," Landgraf said.
In a statement released to inForney.com, Landgraf says, state-wide assessment instrument places too great of a burden on our students and teachers. Teachers are forced to "teach to the test" so that the largest number of students can achieve scores that meet the minimum level of satisfaction.
He believes this destroys any opportunity for teachers to come up with creative ways for students to learn, and limits the amount of time and attention teachers can pay to specific students. Rather than looking at the work a student has done over a semester or school year, the test looks at one day. Rather than assessing growth of students with special needs or the level of intelligence of the most gifted and talented students, the test is designed to assess the average student's understanding of basic curriculum.
"In my view, we should value teaching over testing,” Landgraf said. “This bill will allow us to get back to the basics of education so that Texas students are prepared for college, the workforce or the military when they graduate.”
Recently elected State Representative for House District 4 Keith Bell of Forney, says he believes there is an over-reliance of high-stakes testing dictating the future of students, evaluations of teachers, campus ratings and that of a district. He agrees with Landgraf that testing has lent dependence on these outcomes rather than if students are career or college ready.
“I support a holistic approach to evaluating a student’s progress, while maintaining accountability. We as taxpayers must see the value of our property taxes. At the end of the day, lets focus on the child,” Bell says.
Many local school officials say they agree.
"We believe in accountability including academic accountability. Even more, we believe in local accountability to meet the needs of our community. STAAR testing should be one indicator but not the sole indicator of district success," Dr. Robert Jolly, Crandall ISD Superintendent tells inForney.com.
Terrell ISD Superintendent Micheal French echoed those sentiments.
“Over emphasis on standardized testing is never good for students or teachers,” French says.
“Kaufman ISD is in support of any bill that would lessen the burden of high stakes testing on students,” Kell Clopton, Assistant Superintendent of Schools says in an email to inForney.com
Forney ISD officials declined to comment, but teachers say they are optimistic that lawmakers have finally acknowledged what Texas teachers have been telling them for years.
“It’s like they finally heard us. They’re wasting a lot of money and energy on a test that provides no benefit to our students,” says Kim, who asked us not to use her last name, but says she has over 25 years of teaching experience in Forney schools.
“If parents, teachers and administrators will stand together, maybe Austin will finally show us that they’re willing to stand on our behalf, and not with those who stand to make more money,” she says.
The 86th Texas legislative session reconvenes Tuesday and will run through May 27.
