The Texas Legislature heard the voices of parents, students, teachers, and employers.
The Texas House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly, 145-2, to reduce high-stakes testing.
Under the legislation, the number of tests required for high school graduation would be reduced from 15 (the highest in the nation) to five.
The Texas Senate earlier passed a bill to cut back on testing,
As former Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott said last year, the testing industry in Texas turned into a vampire. Only weeks ago, at the mass Save Texas Schools rally in front of the State Capitol, he called testing “the flea that wags the tail that wags the dog.”
Legislators are talking about getting some flea powder.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is great breaking news. Texas started this mess we’re in and I applaud parents and educators for leading the way out of it. The momentum is building elsewhere by next spring’s testing season we’ll all be in a better place.
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The problem with “fleas” is they tend to jump from one State to another State!
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Does Pearson stand to lose in this deal?
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Not if they can help it.
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Yeah, but they’ll make it up in test prep materials for the Common Core Standards.
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TX legislators, take one more step in the right direction: take the high school tests and publish your results. Are you smart enough to pass the tests you require your students to pass? Have the GUTS!
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I am sure many will think this is a victory and, in some respects it is–Texas, the cradle if not the birthplace of this horrendous standards movement, has been forced to back down. However, reducing the number of required tests by 2/3 does not address the underlying problem that these tests are pedagogically unsound and provide no real benefit to providing instruction and even less in improving learning. Do not be surprised if this “victory” is usurped and morphs into yet another scheme. Corporations like Pearson have not been abandoned by Texas legislators, many highly compensated for their ties with those corporations and others in the energy, financial,and “healthcare” industries.
Additionally, it does not matter if there are 5 tests or 15 if they are given interminably. Indeed, if there are “only” 5, the likelihood that there will be even more pressure for schools to “perform” within these seemingly smaller number of tests. There is a reason why the concept of these tests is flawed and it is not in their number, which only exacerbate their flaws. There is a reason why “accountability” always seems to put children at the center of the fire, and fault, for the results of those tests. Anyone who thinks that the Republicans of Texas in league with their Democratic shills have somehow become more progressive will be in for a shock.
So, don’t celebrate your “slam dunk” just yet.We still need to get back on defense.
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I completely agree with you. I’m on pins and needles as the Senate discusses their bills today.
My friend and I have been down to Austin several times this session asking our legislators to add an appeal process to those 12th graders who have successfully completed high school but cannot pass the tests. Evidentially the House did not recognize the value in protecting the hard work our children have done throughout their high school career. It is rumored that the Senate is going to amend SB1724 but possibly only covering those students currently under 504 coverage, such as dyslexia.
I am happy the House reduced our tests, the cumulative score and the 15% rule but it is not enough. The “accountability” needs to stop punishing our children especially when this system is not achieving its goal.
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I hope they do: those people are rats! And well, the cronies with them in government knew it was a losing battle, so they had to give in after our rally in Austin. YES for education!
Ana M. Fores Tamayo
Adjunct Justice
Petition: http://signon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts.fb1?source=c.fb&r_by=426534
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AdjunctJustice
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Y’all are wonderful down there in the lone star state for standing up and fighting for what’s right for children and economically prudent for taxpayer money.
The next step will be to not tie test scores to teacher evaluation.
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Agreed! Pass this petition to all Texas Parents.
https://www.change.org/petitions/our-texas-legislature-and-governor-perry-amend-proposed-education-legislation-to-take-effect-this-school-year
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Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.
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Yes, Robert, you are right. The next step is to untie the tests from graduation. It’s a “multi-session” process to make this happen. Sadly, I’m afraid it’s going to take thousands more kids being denied diplomas to get any action on that. So sad.
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Unfortunately, this bill also created a graduation plan with reduced requirements. It’s designed to help students transition from high school directly into the workforce, but leaves these students significantly less educated and further away from college readiness.
Pros and cons to everything as usual…
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A step in the right direction, but unfortunately, still tests. I fear the real reason was to reduce costs, not the fact that the tests are flawed and have little validity.
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Yeah, because Texas was sued, and lost, for cutting ed funding while maintaining standards. So this is the response rather than bolster funding.
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let the foreigners take over..the vast majority of “Americans” do not deserve this country anyway. Let the dumbing down of America be complete.
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I teach on CO and our 5th graders had 12 hours (12!) of testing this year. Really?! One of my students said that he felt like his head was going to split open from the stress. Is this what 11 year olds should be worrying about?
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Update – Bad news: Lt. Gov Dewhurst has tabled SB 3/1724 holding it hostage to increase the tests they require to include Alg II and Eng III.
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Like I said. It’s never that easy. I hope this behooves Texas educators to redouble their efforts to come to DC and Occupy the DOE
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Here’s something to think about. I’ve been working with two very bright honors students in the college of education. They have looked at all the research, data, writings, and principle of Campbell’s law (we used the Berliner and Nichols book on cheating), and really spent some time studying the negative and damaging effects of only using standardized tests to make wide-sweeping decisions. about school performance. They get it. They designed a simple accountability system for the school, district’s, and state that would show how well students were doing in the school. The power rested in the hands of the teacher. And, they didn’t shy away from some standardized testing. They strongly believed in a 8th grade exam for entering into high school. But the whole system is an e-portfolio that can, when given access, be reviewed at many different levels.
My point for this long rant is that we can and should go back to Sound Instructional Principles or (SIP) that are more instructional for teachers, help parents know strengthens and weaknesses, and help the children know what they are good at and what they need to learn more about. We must fight for a humane way to teach and learn and assess in our schools.
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It was a great day in Texas! Superintendents, curriculum staff, teachers, and most importantly parents were finally listened to on the subject of abusive testing. They also put some common sense back in our graduation plans. This stage was set by school boards across the state passing an anti-testing resolution and the state losing the districts’ led lawsuit over the inequitable funding system in Texas. The “Run-away Scrape” from excessive testing has begun!
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