Education Testing is "bad News"

["AUSTIN — The following is a statement by Doug Rogers, executive director of Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), regarding the testimony made last week by Texas Workforce Commissioner Tom Pauken at a hearing of the House Committee on Economic and Small Business Development on career and technology education. Like Pauken, ATPE agrees that the testing system in public schools is “badly broken.”

“Pauken has added the voice of the business community to that of parents and educators, urging the next legislature to end the state’s over reliance on testing and instead refocus on authentic learning, teaching real world skills and the development of students capable of creative problem solving.

"Like Commissioner Pauken, we also disagree with a recent press release by a small group of special interest lobbyists, including Bill Hammond, that ties education funding to a failed testing system. Like the Commissioner, we have found a general agreement among conservative lawmakers and business leaders that the current testing system is flawed and in need of change.”}

Finally someone has it right. Do away with the testing system for the State Of Texas and get back to teaching the students and not the tests. the sooner that happens the sooner the schools will have more money to use as the tests take way over Millions in tax money to administer and formulate.

Who is watching over the teachers and testing the teachers to make sure they are teaching the students instead of testing the students? The ex teacher testers or some new teaching student teachers?

Mr_D_ ElPaso wrote:

Who is watching over the teachers and testing the teachers to make sure they are teaching the students instead of testing the students? The ex teacher testers or some new teaching student teachers?

The Texas Education Agency administers the tests at the first half of the Senior year in College. Then they have to jump through hoops for fiver years, I do believe, and if they fail they are sent back to college or fired.

My daughter is a college student and she raised holy hell when she heard this news. She aced all the test in high school and now she's flying high in college but this is a kick in the pants for hard working students like her.

Billie wrote:

My daughter is a college student and she raised holy hell when she heard this news. She aced all the test in high school and now she's flying high in college but this is a kick in the pants for hard working students like her.

She should have talked with her counselor/course adviser about it.

James Russell USNR wrote:

<quoted text>She should have talked with her counselor/course adviser about it.

Hey, thanks for the info. I will let her know post haste and hopefully she can get things straightened out before the fall. She has a 3.8 GPA and is a lovely young woman.