Four Texas-sized testing happenings to keep an eye on

23 Oct Four Texas-sized testing happenings to keep an eye on

By Dale Chu

While the education talk in Texas revolves around the expansion of school choice, the goings on in the Lone Star State as it relates to standardized testing, lawmaking, and the strategic use of assessment data have largely flown under the radar. I’d like to call your attention to four items in particular:

Advanced math: Back in May, the governor signed a law that requires middle school students to be automatically enrolled in advanced math if they score in the top 40 percent of the state’s annual exam. This stands to be a big deal, especially for Black and Latino students who have historically been shut out of advanced math courses. In Dallas ISD, the policy has dramatically increased the percentage of Black and Latino sixth graders enrolled in honors math.

More instructional time part one: A law passed in June 2019—prompted in part by research from RAND using the PISA assessment—established a program called Additional Days School Year, which covers half the cost of adding up to 30 days of instruction to the academic calendar. Aldine ISD in Houston has taken advantage of the opportunity to help address learning loss, and early results appear promising. To wit, one of the lowest-performing schools in the district is now one of the highest-performing, according to the district’s superintendent.

More instructional time part two: A law signed by the governor in June 2021 required schools to provide at least 30 hours of tutoring to each student that did not pass the state exam. Rather than leaving the decision of who gets tutoring to the sole discretion of local schools and districts, Texas legislators drew a line on behalf of the state’s most marginalized children. To be sure, implementation of the law has proven to be logistically challenging—and 30 hours is a good start though in many cases likely not enough—but the spirit of data-powered education recovery is an admirable one.

Pursuing innovative assessments: In addition to being one of several states to pilot through-year testing, Texas representative Matt Shaheen has filed a bill to replace the state’s annual exam with something more flexible and adaptive. Notably, House Bill 21 has no co-sponsors and has not had a hearing. It may not go anywhere at all given the legislature’s full docket, but it could be an early indication of where the state is headed on testing. This interview with Shaheen is worth listening to.

The upshot is that as Texas looks at addressing learning loss and the future of testing, the state continues to rely on the valuable data afforded by state assessments to help drive resources and target interventions. It’s a sound approach—one that should serve as a model for other states to consider emulating.