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One Person Can Make a Difference--and They've Got 10


Parents and educators who are worried about the emphasis on standardized tests plan to push the Legislature to set up more ways to measure the quality of students' learning.

Members of the Georgetown-based Citizens for Quality Assessment and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund are critical of the influence that the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test and its successor, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, have in evaluating students and school districts.

The accountability tests, created by the state Legislature, started in the early 1990s to measure students' learning and help rank campuses. Supporters say the exams do a good job of measuring learning skills and ensure that school systems do not ignore minority and low-income students in the push for academic excellence.

But some members of Citizens for Quality Assessment say that although they are not trying to abolish the state exam, they think there should be more standards than just the TAKS for judging students and school districts.

"Too many critical decisions are tied to that single test," said Sharon Johnson, an associate professor of education at Southwestern University in Georgetown.

She said portfolios of a student's work, in addition to test scores, should be used to judge performance. Teacher recommendations should also be given weight, she said.

"The teacher is a professional, and the teacher is the one person who spends more time with the child than anyone else," Johnson said. Her group is preparing a list of alternatives that they will present to legislators and parents' groups.

The Georgetown group has only 10 active members, Johnson said, but it continues to attract participants to its meetings. . . .



— Bob Banta
Groups seek ways to judge learning
American-Statesman
Dec. 16, 2002
http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/monday/metro_state_1.html

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