[CSPS] TAKS by teachers

[Jonathan Coopersmith]

What do the teachers know?


TAKS not true gauge, polled teachers say

Educator group's survey says parents share view; state questions findings



12:00 AM CST on Friday, January 12, 2007

By TERRENCE STUTZ / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – More than three out of four teachers 
believe the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and 
Skills does not accurately measure a student's 
academic level and is turning students into test 
takers rather than critical thinkers, according to a study released Thursday.

The random telephone survey, paid for by a 
teacher group and conducted by a University of 
Texas researcher and a Houston research firm, 
found that teachers and parents share negative 
views about the TAKS and the way the high-stakes 
exam is being used in public schools, although 
parents' views were generally less strong.

For example, a solid majority of teachers and 
parents – more than 60 percent – said the TAKS 
has reduced learning to how well a student can take a test.

However, there was a divergence of opinion when 
the groups were asked whether the TAKS is 
increasing the overall quality of the state's 
education system. Roughly three-quarters of 
parents agreed that it is, while three-quarters 
of teachers disagreed that the test is helping.

"The results suggested that neither teachers nor 
parents want to return to the days of no 
assessment or accountability. But both teachers 
and parents suggested the system has swung too 
far from one extreme [no testing or 
accountability] to another [too much testing and 
accountability]," said an analysis of the survey results.

The random survey of 500 teachers and 500 parents 
across the state was conducted by Creative 
Consumer Research of Houston and Edward Fuller, a 
research associate in the educational policy and 
planning program at UT-Austin. The Association of 
Texas Professional Educators, which has long 
opposed the test, paid for the research.

A spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency, 
which oversees the TAKS testing program, 
questioned the accuracy of the findings. The 
agency has consistently defended the test as 
accurately gauging what the state says youngsters should learn.

"Thousands of teachers have helped us create the 
TAKS test questions to make sure they accurately 
measure the material students are expected to 
learn at each grade level," said TEA's Debbie 
Graves Ratcliffe. "Many scholarly reviews have 
confirmed that the test is aligned with the curriculum."

Cindy Chapman, a high school math teacher from 
Whiteface and president of the ATPE, said the 
study shows widespread concern among teachers and 
parents about the high-stakes nature of the TAKS, 
which is used to rate the performance of schools 
annually and determine which students pass in 
certain grades. In addition, high school students 
must pass the 11th-grade TAKS to receive a diploma.

Several bills filed in the Legislature would 
change the testing system, including one that 
would replace the graduation test with a series of subject-specific exams.

E-mail <mailto:tstutz at dallasnews.com>tstutz at dallasnews.com


http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/DN-TAKS_12tex.ART.State.Edition1.3e8fd32.html


Jonathan Coopersmith
Associate Professor
Dept. of History
MS 4236
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas  77843-4236
979.845.8584
979.862.4314 fax

Secretary
History & Philosophy of Science Section (L)
American Association for the Advancement of Science
www.aaas.org 
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