House Education Chairman Asks for Delay Of STAAR Rule
House Public Education Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, today added his voice to the growing chorus asking the Texas Education Agency to defer implementation of STAAR's 15 percent rule.
The letter, which Eissler will formally send to Education Commissioner Robert Scott on Friday, follows a similar one from his counterpart in the Senate, Florence Shapiro, R-Plano. His letter says that delaying the requirement that the new exams make up 15 percent of high school students' final grades is in their best interest, and that the state agency has the authority to grant a waiver.
"Opposing excessive testing is not ...
Comments (12)
Bambi Clark via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Now they back peddle. What a joke!
Fernando Perez via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Obviously, all these folks didn't compare notes or just plain not listening. Who wins ?
Alice Taylor
So now when the lege passes a law and realize they didn't think it through carefully enough, a couple of them can just write a letter to the agency required to enforce the law and say "my bad, never mind..you guys just do what you want to...don't pay any attention to us...."?
Not that I think reviewing the STAARS law at this stage is a bad thing, but, really folks, I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. Passing the buck to Scott and saying "fix our mistake" isn't quite the way the lege is supposed to operate. This isn't the same as ordering a burrito topped with pickles and ice cream, realizing that's a really bad idea and then telling the chef he has your permission to use his own recipes.
Edy Chamness via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Pearson wins.
Bambi Clark via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Pearson OWNS Eissler along with many others.
GS Crispus
There is the question as to whether the Lege even has the authority to meddle in local district's gradebooks.
Although, I tend to believe this is just our Republicans making noise for the upset constituency, deflecting to TEA (whether they have authority or not), and then being able to claim down the road that they "made an effort" and that the solution is to double down on cutting education (again) to make it right.
Texas Parents Union via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Actually, our reps supported several bills aimed at excessive testing:
* HB 2491 (incl 2 year moratorium on standardized testing)
* HB 233 (A Proposal to Decrease Testing)
* HB 2135 (reduced testing for high-ability students)
GS Crispus
What bills were introduced, and what a Republican supermajority passed are two seperate things. There is no defense of what the REPUBLICAN SUPERMAJORITY allowed in this last legislative session. They gutted our education system, and they handed tax cuts and pork-barrel to their business interests at the expense of our children's education.
Even Senator Dan Patrick was quite honest on the radio that the "Republicans would never have the votes to get what they wanted done as a party after this session." The way they sold these exams to the public was nothing more than snake oil to their constituents.
I will say again, there is NO DEFENSE or RATIONALIZATION of what the Republican party did in the last session. We elected the business community to run government like business, and it is now quite obvious that turning our public schools into exam mills is what some in the business community needed for greater profit.
LLC LLC1923
Education in Texas is about Pearson's contracts, subcontracts and test prep.
Dianna Pharr via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I think we should test the superintendents.
Texas Parents Opt Out of State Tests via Texas Tribune on Facebook
We agree. Let them take all 12 of the EOC's and we'll post their scores on Facebook. Isn't that what we keep hearing about? ACCOUNTABILITY?
Debbie Keiser
So many changes and amendments have taken place regarding the STAAR information that I believe this year should be a test run on all aspects of this test. Our 9th grade students are the guinea pigs for this testing debacle, being required to accumulate a certain number of points over taking the 12 EOCs in order to graduate. I have no problem with administering EOCs instead of general TAKS tests - it really makes more sense to test students over the course materials they have been learning (Algebra, Geometry, Biology, etc.) instead of general information. What doesn't fit is there are many students with test anxiety, learning disabilities, etc. who will not fare well on these new timed tests. The anxiety is not helped by the fact that these tests are next month, TEA is STILL releasing new information about them, and teachers are scrambling to try to prepare their classes as best they can. There are districts instituting Saturday School, mandatory after school tutoring sessions, and handing out work packets to help prepare 3-9 grade students for this complete change in testing philosophy. What message is this sending to our students? Is all of this testing TEACHING our students anything? Is it benefitting their educations in ANY WAY? Is it necessary for them to get into good colleges? With the push for academic rigor and real-world relevant activities in the classroom, can someone explain to me how taking this many standardized tests is real-world relevant?