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>> Return to KSTX Town Hall Main Page Since 1999, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, commonly known as TAKS, has been the standard to measure a student’s aptitude. Developed by Pearson Educational Measurement under supervision of the Texas Education Agency, the test is also assesses the effectiveness of teachers in schools in educating students under the No Child Left Behind Act and to promote accountability. TAKS measures aptitude in a range of subject areas, including reading, writing, math, science and social studies, depending on the grade level. Students are tested in grades 3-10. High school seniors must currently pass an Exit Level TAKS test in order to graduate. Students at the 5th and 8th grade are required to pass the reading and mathematics portions of the TAKS in order to advance to the next grade level. Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, the state of Texas will transition to end-of-course assessments with the implementation of STAAR, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. Mandated by Senate Bill 1031 in 2007 and House Bill 3 in 2009, STAAR will phase out the TAKS test by implementing student assessments in a range of core subjects, including:
The transition to STAAR, which will be more rigorous than TAKS, was implemented to measure a students overall aptitude in a full range of curriculum, rather then requiring students to pass high-stakes assessments in reading and math in order to graduate to the next grade level. High school students will be required to earn a cumulative score in the four core subject areas in order to graduate, with the score of the end-of-course exam accounting for 15 percent of the student's final grade. Students in grades 3-8 will be take reading and mathematics tests will test knowledge and skills from grade to grade that are linked to performance expectations for the English III and Algebra II course assessments. New accountability measurements will also be designed in the wake of STAAR implementation. Standardized testing has both its proponents and critics. Those in favor of standardized testing claim that it improves the overall quality of a student's education and enforces accountability of educators and schools. Those who oppose these assessment tools claim that these tests encourage teachers to teach a narrow sub-set of skills to improve test performance instead of focusing on giving students a fuller, deeper understanding of a range of course areas. Standardized tests have also incited criticisms of cultural bias that leave low-income, minority, and non-native English speaking students at a disadvantage. Does the state's standardized testing system need to be improved, or will the implementation of STAAR put students on the right track of attaining a well-rounded education that adequately prepares them for college? KSTX presented a solutions-based conversation on standardized testing in Texas at Family Service Association's The Neighborhood Place. The free, open-to-the-public forum took place on Wednesday, September 29. The KSTX Town Hall: Standardized Testing will air on The Newsmaker Hour on Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 8 p.m. Panelists
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