News: HB5 Moves to Senate in 7-2 Vote

This morning the Houston Chronicle reports that HB5, which passed in the House by a 145-2 vote last month, will now move to the Senate. The article's full text is below:

 

 

Bill dialing back tests for students heads to Senate

By Maria Luisa Cesar | April 16, 2013 | Updated: April 16, 2013 11:02pm

AUSTIN - Texas high school students are a step closer to needing to take fewer standardized tests to graduate.
After hours of testimony from parents, educators and business leaders Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee voted to send House Bill 5 - an omnibus bill that would overhaul the state's graduation and testing requirements - to the full Senate.

The bill has received broad support for dialing back the requirements of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test. The House passed it by a 145-2 vote last month.

But provisions that would decrease the number of math and science courses required for a high school diploma have sparked fierce criticism as a retreat from accountability and rigor.

The bill, authored by Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, the House education chair, would cut the number of STAAR end-of-course tests needed to graduate from 15 to five and abolish the state's cumulative score requirement and a provision that counts such tests toward a student's class grades.

The committee voted 7-2 to move HB 5 to the Senate after making changes to it, including doing away with a provision that would rate schools using an A through F grading system.

Drawing the most debate Tuesday was a provision that would restructure high school diploma requirements and eliminate the state's "4X4" graduation plan, under which high school students currently must take four years of math, science, social studies and English.

The panel also inserted language from a companion bill, Senate Bill 3, that would do away with the current "minimum," "recommended" and "distinguished" diploma plans and allow students to choose career and vocational tracks in areas such as the humanities, business and industry, and science, technology, engineering and math - or STEM.

The bill still requires that students take 16 hours in core credit courses such as math, science, social studies and English, but gives students more flexibility to choose what areas they want to focus on, the Senate panel's chairman, Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said after the meeting.

While some have lauded the proposed changes, others have worried that the graduation plans would promote student "tracking," where those struggling academically would be encouraged to opt out of more difficult course work.

The bill will likely be reviewed by the full Senate next week, Patrick said, adding that he would need to assuage the concerns some lawmakers had to get the 21 votes the bill needs to make it to the floor.

"We are not - neither Chairman Aycock or myself - we're not stepping back in rigor or accountability," he said.