By Dale Chu
Texas is taking a bold step to keep its youngest students from falling behind. As part of its new spending package, local superintendents must report K–3 reading and math assessment results to their school boards and make them available to parents. While these are brief “screeners” rather than high-stakes exams, the move is significant: it forces boards—long criticized for spending minimal time on student achievement—to confront the data and take action on underperformance before it becomes too late.
Here’s the key language from the new law:
The superintendent of each school district shall:
- report to the commissioner and the board of trustees of the district at a public meeting of the board the results of a reading or mathematics instrument administered to students under this section; and
- not later than the earlier of the 20th school day or the 30th calendar day after the date on which the results of a reading or mathematics instrument are available, report, in writing or electronically, to a student’s parent or guardian…
It’s remarkable that superintendents must be statutorily required to share screener results with their boards and communities. Yet we know that critical questions about learning gaps, resource allocation, and early interventions often go unasked. To its credit, the Lone Star State is aiming to create the conditions for more districts to make informed decisions in support of student learning.
While it may seem obvious that boards should pay attention to learning data, the reality is that they often haven’t. Texas’s approach is an exemplar for states seeking to combine early assessment, transparency, and board accountability. To be sure, these are not state summative assessment results—but the requirement provides a strong model for how all student test results could be reported and used effectively.
The trickier part may be with parents. It’s one thing to send results home; it’s another to ensure families actually review and understand them. Picture little Johnny bouncing home with his screener results stuffed at the bottom of his backpack, wedged between half-finished worksheets and a squashed granola bar. If schools and districts want parents to gain real insight into how their children are faring—and act before gaps become entrenched—they’ll need to go beyond the bare requirements of the law.