What a great system...

Are the education makers in the Texas government going too far? In the 13 years I have been in school, Texas has changed the standardized test three times, each time making it more difficult for students to pass. In 2003, the test TAAS (Texas Assessment of Academic Skills) was replaced by the revamped test called the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS. My question is why is the government making the tests harder when they still have a big majority of students failing the old test?

It has also become a problem with teachers teaching to the TAKS test and not sticking to the Texas curriculum, but there is so much pressure on them (to keep their jobs) that the teachers don't think they have a choice, and really they don’t.

I don't think a score on a test should determine what kind of student you are, what kind of school you go to, what your race says about your score, etc. Even though people think they can know who you are and why you made the score you did, they really don’t. Currently, my high school is under the watchful eye of the government this year because we have made below the "Acceptable" rating for the past two years. They are even thinking about replacing our principal because of the low scores that students made on the TAKS test, but he is the hardest working man I know. It would be a shame for him to lose his job over a standardized test that is not 100% accurate on showing what the students have learned during the year.

Texas prides itself on its education system and because it has one of the hardest standardized tests in the country. But just because it's the hardest doesn't mean it should stop people from graduating high school. Passing the TAKS test on the 4 main subjects (Math, Reading, Writing, and Science) is required for a high school student to graduate. Some people don't have an aptitude for say science and they are never going to use it in the real world, but we're going to punish them by letting them fail high school completely because they didn't pass the government's test. What a great system....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Assessment_of_Knowledge_and_Skills