By Bob Ray Sanders
bobray@star-telegram.com
In addition to "March Madness," the third month of the year is known for scores of other special events and observances, including Women's History Month, National Eye Donor Month, Red Cross Month and the beginning of Deaf History Month.
It's also known for everything from National Caffeine Awareness Month to Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month, not to mention Bell Peppers and Broccoli Month.
More than 60 years ago, a week in March was set aside in Texas to celebrate the state's most cherished institution: public schools. Yes, there was a time in our history when public schools actually were cherished.
The idea of Texas Public Schools Week was to showcase individual schools, students and education in general. Teachers prepared special bulletin boards and programs so youngsters could impress the hundreds of visitors who would drop by, sometimes by the busloads.
Kids used to look forward to the time because in addition to their parents, local public officials and celebrities made it a point to visit several schools in their districts.
While Texas Public Schools Week technically still exists, many schools and districts don't have the time for it anymore. Texas students spend March preparing for and taking tests. The statewide standardized exams are a source of year-round angst for pupils, teachers and administrators, who are judged -- and in many cases, labeled -- by test scores.
We've had the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS), Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and, being introduced this month, the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR).
The STAAR tests will measure third- through eighth-grade students on their abilities in core subjects, and serve as end-of-course exams for high school students, beginning with ninth-graders this year.
There has been so much confusion over how to calculate STAAR results into final grades, and into class rankings, that Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott gave school districts the option to waive a key statutory requirement this year.
The Legislature decided that the STAAR scores would count for 15 percent of a student's grade. With Scott's decision, many districts are opting to delay implementation of that provision until next year.
Within four years, all high school students will be taking the more rigorous end-of-course exams (12 in all) in key subjects such as algebra, geometry, biology, chemistry, physics, English, geography and history.
Although relieved they have a one-year reprieve on the 15 percent rule, school administrators are nervous about the impact the STAAR exam will have on students and teachers, as eventually the tests will evaluate instruction.
Districts already have instituted more teacher training and, in anticipation of high failure rates, some are designing more tutoring sessions and summer school classes.
Some level of testing is necessary in order to measure students' progress, but it seems too much time and energy are spent on preparing for tests rather than educating kids -- not to mention the amount of money spent on statewide exams.
Testing cost for this school year is $89 million, said Debbie Ratcliffe, director of the division of communication of the Texas Education Agency.
"That's turn-key costs that cover everything from developing test questions to printing the booklets, freighting them to 8,000 schools, freighting the booklets back to the testing center for scoring and scoring the documents for the new STAAR tests as well as the 10th- and 11th-grade TAKS tests, which we are still giving," Ratcliffe said. "Most of the costs are in the test development process."
The $89 million doesn't include the almost $37 million spent by school districts on testing materials. The local districts' cost, which does not figure in the amount of staff and administration time devoted to test preparation, was calculated by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.
At times it seems like our educational system is being driven by the testing industry.
All of the time and money used for exams wouldn't bother me so much if it actually produced positive results in the classroom.
Bob Ray Sanders' column appears Sundays and Wednesdays.817-390-7775Twitter: @BobRaySanders
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