Lies, Damned Lies, and the TAKS

{Scheduled for publication March 6, 2012}

The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests are a set of standardized tests that public school children in Texas must take, and ultimately pass, to graduate from high school.

The stated purpose of the TAKS is “to provide an accurate measure of student achievement in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science.” A huge debate rages throughout Texas, and the nation for that matter, as to whether such standardized tests can accurately measure student achievement. This debate is moot. It is moot because the stated purpose of the TAKS is not at all the true purpose of the TAKS.

The true purpose of the TAKS, conceived by corporate reformers and their puppet politicians, is to discredit public schools and teachers. The hope is that public schools cannot get sufficient numbers of students to pass the tests, thus implying they are incompetent, and leaving the door open to takeover by privately owned charter management organizations (CMOs).

Did you like HMOs? You’re gonna love CMOs.

While the TAKS has inflicted serious injury on our public schools, it has ultimately failed in its mission. More and more students are passing the TAKS each year and more and more “Exemplary” schools are appearing across the state. Unfortunately, schools have beaten back the TAKS threat by resorting to “teaching-to-the-test.” The curriculum has been dumbed-down and lessons have been narrowed to focus on material covered by the TAKS. Extra classes have been added to do nothing but teach-the-test. Thus we have raised a generation of children whose primary skill is taking multiple choice tests.

The defeat of TAKS is a pyrrhic victory at best.

As a result of its failure, TAKS will be phased out by the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests beginning this school year. These are so-called “end-of-course” tests meaning that a separate test is administered for each subject (e.g., Algebra I, English I, Biology, Geography). Theoretically, these end-of-course tests will put an end to teaching-to-the-test. All teachers need do is teach their subject matter and their kids will pass. Theoretically.

I know of one school (not in Stephenville) that administered mid-year benchmark (practice) STAAR tests to its students. Half of the students in the school failed the math tests. Panic city. Personally, I would see the glass as half full. To have half of your students pass a test containing material they haven’t yet been taught is remarkable.  But school officials do not see it that way. They have hired outside tutors to pull students from elective classes such as art, music, and theatre to provide them extra tutoring in math. I’m sure this will soon be a common practice across the state.

So much for not teaching-to-the-test.

What is seldom mentioned about the STAAR tests is that the degree of difficulty has been raised significantly over TAKS. Also, students must take and pass many more STAAR tests than TAKS. Currently, students must pass four comprehensive TAKS tests to graduate high school. Beginning with the class of 2015, students must pass 12 STAAR tests to graduate. Harder tests and more tests lead to more failures, and make it all the easier to discredit schools.

By the way, did I mention that, during this time of economic hardship, the state of Texas is paying upwards of $500 million to Pearson Education, Inc. of London, England to prepare the STAAR tests? That’s a great deal for Pearson; not such a great deal for our kids.

On the bright side there is a growing movement across the Texas and the nation against standardized testing. This movement is led by parents who are beginning to realize that their children have been set up to fail. You can find one such group on Facebook at Texas Parents Opt Out of State Tests. This is a group definitely worth checking out.

Teachers, it’s time to join parents the resistance against the standardized testing scam. Write, phone or email your State Representative and Senator. Write, phone or email your U.S. Representative and Senator.  Tell them it’s time to stop the testing madness. Every voice helps.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing.