Kellner, Salazar: Fewer state school tests will help our kids learn
4 core subject exams will demonstrate college readinessBy Larry Kellner, and Joanne Salazar | May 10, 2013
Texas started a national trend in the 1990s by making standardized testing the centerpiece of its education system.
While Texas has the obligation to assess that essential skills are being taught on a consistent basis, these assessments should not be the primary focus, but rather a Quality Assurance (QA) check that schools are successfully preparing students in the core subjects of math, English, science and social studies.
Under the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) system, Texas currently requires a high school student to pass 15 end-of-course exams to graduate under the recommended plan - more than any other state in the country and hardly a QA check.
In addition, while the Texas Legislature has determined that college readiness is a key goal of Texas public schools, they attempt to measure college readiness using state-specific STAAR tests that colleges do not use for admission decisions. The only credible way to determine college readiness is to use the same measures that colleges use - the ACT or SAT exams. These highly respected tests provide national benchmarking and have college readiness cut scores defined from decades of data that can't be manipulated by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to show artificial levels of progress.
As the Legislature's 83rd session draws to a close, the path forward is clear. With near unanimity, both the Texas Senate and House have passed different versions of a bill (HB5) that corrects many of the excesses of STAAR. As the Texas Senate and House work to finalize the bill, they and Gov. Rick Perry should support a plan that includes one high school end-of-course exam in each core subject: math, English, science and social studies. In addition, Texas should require administering the ACT or SAT test to determine college readiness.
Business leaders across the state support this approach because they have faced the same issue. In the manufacturing environment, a well-run company (think Six Sigma or LEAN) adheres to the philosophy that you can't test quality into the product; you must design and build quality in - using people, processes and tools. In the education arena, a similar philosophy holds true: you can't test knowledge into students; research shows that strong curriculum and great teachers, not tests, are the keys to learning.
In today's competitive global market, it is far too costly for companies to wait until the completion of their manufacturing processes to determine if their product meets specifications; rather, profitable businesses invest in trained employees, proper tools and defined procedures to ensure a quality product is produced. Quality Assurance (QA) checks are performed on the final product to provide evidence that the defined specifications have been met; not to identify or catch failures.
In a similar fashion, our education system needs to invest in providing teacher training, effective tools and a strong curriculum - with the goal being a student well-prepared for success after high school. It is important to note that state-mandated, custom-designed, standardized tests do not increase the knowledge of Texas students. As Carolyn Heinrich of the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs states in a recent guest column for the Texas Tribune, "We have over-invested in testing (as if it was some kind of "magic bullet") and under-invested in other tools for educational improvement." She further states, "The reason that proponents of the current flawed system do not cite any credible research that supports a causal link between this type of aggressive, test-based accountability system and student improvement is that it does not exist."
Texas needs to think like a well-run business and put its focus on educating students through strong curriculum and great teachers.
The current excessive and inefficient STAAR testing regime resembles the U.S. auto industry in the 1970s that stressed rigorous final testing to catch failures but built high-defect, unreliable cars. U.S. automakers were then shocked to see Japan take over a significant portion of the U.S. car market in the 1980s by focusing on manufacturing high-quality, defect-free automobiles.
The Texas Senate and House need to agree on a final version of HB5 and Gov. Perry needs to sign it. Otherwise, we risk suffering the same result as the U.S. auto industry of the 1970s.
Kellner was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry as a business member of the 2008 Texas Select Committee on Public School Accountability and is former chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines. Salazar is on the board of Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessment (TAMSA) and is president of Terra Therapies.
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