Under bill, some who flunk state tests would graduate

Texas lawmakers took aim at the standardized testing system Thursday as they considered a proposal to allow high school seniors to graduate even if they fail state exams.

“It’s heart-wrenching, and it’s also insanity, when you see the level of achievement these kids are already doing and yet they can’t even pass this test,” said Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, whose panel was hearing testimony on the bill.

Some 28,000 students in the Class of 2015 — about 1 in 10 high school seniors — still must pass one or more of the five required exams in English I, English II, U.S. history, biology and algebra I.

Senate Bill 149 by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, would allow school districts to set up panels of educators, counselors and parents to weigh factors such as grades, college entrance exam scores and attendance to determine whether a student should graduate despite failing state exams.

Wanda Bamberg, superintendent of the Aldine school district, told senators that she is “no longer comfortable” keeping students from graduating based on state exams because she has doubts about the accuracy of scoring.

She said about 390 seniors in her district still needed to pass a state exam to graduate, and she estimated that the legislation would probably help 300 of them receive their diplomas on time.

Except for the U.S. history exam, which usually comes at the end of junior year, students have typically taken all the tests needed for graduation by the time they finish their sophomore year.

If they don’t pass, they have a chance to retake the exams during any of three additional testing periods each year until they graduate. In May, students in the Class of 2015 will have one last chance to take exams they’ve failed.

As they discussed the proposal, a few senators wondered whether it might dissuade students from performing well on exams.

“I think it’s walking a fine line to disincentivize students from doing their best,” said Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, after noting that she approved of the intent of the legislation.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, asked whether the proposed district panels could make an objective decision if they are made up of educators who may be docked in school ratings if a student doesn’t graduate.

But Kolkhorst added that given the complaints, maybe state exams should be dumped altogether.

“How much do we spend on end-of-course exams? Maybe we should just throw those out and save the money,” she said. “If we are going to give a pathway where we don’t have to pass the end-of-course exams … I just say, Why do we need the end-of-course exams?”

Otherwise, the panel appeared largely to support the measure, praising Seliger for bringing it forward.

To take effect in time for this year’s seniors, the bill would need the support of four-fifths of lawmakers in each chamber to bypass a ban on considering legislation in the first 60 days of the session.

On Thursday, after Taylor acknowledged his intent to fast-track the bill to the floor, the committee left the bill pending.

This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Under bill, some who flunk state tests would graduate."