Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment (TAMSA) 1
Word is Spreading Across the State Abilene; Abilene Wylie; Aldine; Alief; Alvarado; Alvin; Alamo Heights; Allen; Amarillo; Angleton; Arlington; Austin; Bangs; Bastrop; Beaumont; Belton; Big Sandy; Borden County; Borger; Brownwood; Brazosport; Breckenridge; Brenham; Brewster; Broaddus; Bullard; Burnet Consolidated; Bushland; Carrollton ‐ Farmers Branch; Canton; Cass County; Central; Central Heights; Clear Creek; Clint; Clyde; College Station; Columbia ‐ Brazoria; Conroe; Coppell; Corpus Christi; Corrigan ‐ Camden; Cuero; Cy ‐ Fair; Dallas; Decatur; Deer Park; Denton; Dickinson; Dripping Springs; Duncanville; Eagle Mountain ‐ Saignaw; Eanes; East Bernard; Ector County; El Paso; Elgin; Elysian Fields; Friendswood; Fort Bend; Ft. Worth; Frisco; Garland; Gatesville; Georgetown; Goose Creek; Grandview; Granger; Guthrie Common; Hays; HEB; Hereford; Highland Park; Hillsboro; Hitchcock; Hondo; Houston; Hudson; Hughes Springs; Humble; Industrial; Irving; Katy; Keller; Kerrville; Klein; LaGrange; Lake Travis; Lamar Consolidated; Lampasas; La Porte; Leander; Lewisville; Lexington; Liberty; Lindale; Llano; Lubbock; Lufkin; Lytle; Madisonville; Magnolia; Manor; Mansfield; Marble Falls; Marfa; McKinney; McMullen; Medina Valley; Needville; North East; North Lamar; Northside; Northwest; Pasadena; Pearland; Perrin ‐ Whitt; Pflugerville; Poteet; Poynor; Richardson; Round Rock; San Angelo; San Antonio; Santa Fe; Schertz ‐ Cibolo ‐ Universal City; Sierra Blanca; Silsbee; Southlake; Southlake Carroll; Spring; Spring Branch; Stafford; Sweeny; Taylor; Texarkana; Texas City; Texas; Thrall; Tomball; Travis; Tyler; Vernon; Wharton; Whitehouse; Wink ‐ Loving; Winona; Wylie; Ysleta *Districts represented by parents signing up on the TAMSA website as of 1/8/13 2
Our Concern TAMSA parents strongly support accountability as we have high expectations for our children and their schools. However, we are appalled by what we see the new testing system doing to the classroom and to our students. 3
Return on Investment? After decades of non ‐ stop testing, Parents, Employers, & Tax ‐ Payers are asking… 1) How much money has this cost us? 2) Are our students more College and Career Ready? 3) Are our students being more successful at completing college or obtaining technical certificates? 4
Texas Tax Dollars Paid to Pearson 2000 – 2001 2001 – 2002 2002 – 2003 2003 – 2004 2004 – 2005 $39,122,054 $50,208,435 $47,451,455 $58,692,430 $62,641,857 2005 – 2006 2006 – 2007 2007 – 2008 2008 – 2009 2009 – 2010 $87,427,757 $100,214,658 $87,260,970 $92,103,116 $85,208,340 2010 – 2011 2011 – 2012 2012 – 2013 2013 – 2014 2014 – 2015 $90,665,041 $89,058,910 $93,369,544 $96,532,517 $98,766,605 TOTAL 2000 – 2015 $1,178,723,689 5
Other Needs for Testing Money 6
Quality Control Issues Serious issues exist with Pearson on graduation ‐ required tests, including: Computer glitches – Texas, Dec. 3, 2012 • Inaccurate grading – Mississippi, Oct. 23, 2012 • Nonsensical questions – New York, April 19, • 2012 (also given previously in other cities, including Houston) 7
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Texas TAKS % Passing: Sum of All Grades Testing 2003 ‐ 2011 Mathematics Reading Writing Science Social Studies 100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 *2009 – 2011 include TAKS-Acc 50 45 40 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009* 2010* 2011* 9
Texas Mean SAT Scores 2003 ‐ 2010 African Am. Hispanic White Asian 1200 1150 1100 1050 (Maximum Score 1600) 1000 950 900 850 800 750 700 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 10
College Persistence Success in Higher Education Overall 35.0% Texas 29.3% 30.0% Nation 25.0% 21.9% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% % Completion of 2 yr. Degrees, 4 yr. Degrees or College ‐ Level Certificates *Source: National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) report “A New Measure of Educational Success in Texas: Tracking the Success of 8 th Graders Into and Through College” Feb. 2012 11
College Persistence Success in Higher Education by Ethnicity 45.0% 41.3% 40.0% Native American 35.0% Asian 30.0% 27.6% Black 25.0% Hispanic 20.0% White 14.1% 15.0% 11.4 % 11.6% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% % Completion of 2 yr. Degrees, 4 yr. Degrees or College ‐ Level Certificates *Source: National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) report “A New Measure of Educational Success in Texas: Tracking the Success of 8 th Graders Into and Through College” Feb. 2012 12
Effect on the Dropout Rate 2012 Statewide English I EOC Results English I Reading English I Writing Date % FAILED Date % FAILED Spring 2012 32% Spring 2012 45% Summer 2012 Summer 2012 62% 76% Retest Retest These TX students are starting 10th grade already behind. There is little chance that they can catch up and keep up. 13
What We’re Advocating For: 1.Use the Appropriate Test to Achieve the Desired Result 2.Remove Standardized Test Scores from Grades and GPAs 3.Remove Algebra II & English III Performance Level Requirements 4.Change Cumulative Score Requirements 5.Require No More Than 3 EOCs for Graduation 14
Advocacy #1 – Appropriate Test • Desired Result : College and Career Ready students, nationally competitive • Appropriate Tests: Gr. 3 – 7 Gr. 8 Gr. 10 Gr. 11 Iowa Test of EXPLORE PLAN PSAT Basic Skills ACT (ITBS) 15
Advocacy #2 – Limit EOCs IF End ‐ of ‐ Course (EOC) exams are required to be passed for graduation, limit them to 2 ‐ 3 • The number of tests required to pass to graduate in Texas far outnumber any other state 25 TEXAS Number of States 0 7 10 2 4 1 Number of Tests 6 ‐ 9 11 ‐ 15* 0 Required to Pass for 1 2 3 4 5 Graduation *Depending on Graduation Plan 1 Data from Center of Education Policy: “State High School Exit Exams: A Policy in Transition” 9/12 16
Advocacy #3 – Eliminate 15% Remove Standardized Test Scores from GPAs • Students have ample incentive to do well on tests when they are required for graduation • Grades are a matter of local control • Teachers need to be allowed to teach and evaluate students UPDATE: as of 11/30/12, deferred for the 2012 ‐ 13 school year and legislators have signaled their intent to permanently eliminate 17
Advocacy #4 – Remove College Barriers Remove Algebra II & English III Performance Level Requirements • These are arbitrary barriers and impediments for admission to a 4 ‐ year Texas college or university for many qualified and eager students with a diversity of talents 18
Advocacy #5 – Eliminate Cumulative Score Change Cumulative Score Requirements • If we retain the cumulative score requirement, change it from mandatory to optional, if it will help a student (CS ≥ ( n x SP)) = Huh??? 19
What We’ve Done So Far Met with legislators across the state • Met with parent and community groups • Met with teacher groups • Met with business groups • Written Op ‐ Eds and Counter Op ‐ Eds • Participated in TV and newspaper interviews • Spoken on panels • Worked with education and testing experts at UT Austin • Testified in hearings before the House, Senate and State Board Of Ed. • Filed comments on the NCLB waiver • Petitioned for a rulemaking at TEA to allow substitution of AP/IB/SAT • Subject exams for EOC’s Filed a letter (with follow ‐ up) to TEA on STAAR implementation • questions, including asking for the writing grading rubric 20
Contact Us Sign up for updates at www.tamsatx.org Follow us on Facebook and Twitter www.facebook.com/tamsatx www.twitter.com/tamsatx Dineen Majcher dmajcher@reglaw.com 21
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