By George Scott * 281-818-7872
Project Director, Academic Equity Advocates * ghscott2050@aol.com
Let’s take the YES part of the answer because the State’s and the Texas Education Agency’s three decades of compromising the integrity of its student testing and accountability systems means this:
- The State’s failure to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about its ethically deprived and historical academic deception and grade-level-corruption in performance standards affects most parents whose children are not high performing or elite students whom the State’s deception has not touched.
The comprehensive summary factual evidence – even the most recent from 2022-23 STAAR accountability testing – should send your red flags waving. The underlying data is even worse. From your standpoint, the most important two questions should be:
- How does this affect my children?
- Is there anything I can still do about it?
Here are two harsh realities:
- If your child is in the 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grades, you have a profound need to understand – truly understand – the academic strengths and weaknesses your child has, especially in English Language & Reading skills and math before hitting high school. It’s not too late to intervene with effective advocacy.
- If your child is in the 9th grade and suffers from significant skill gaps in English Language, Math, or BOTH, immediate intervention is more urgent.
This column focuses upon the question: Does your child need help achieving a credible standard of actual grade level performance in whatever the subject of concern may be? The next column will deal with strategies if your answer is yes.
We are going to use one subject – (8th Grade STAAR reading from 2022-23) to raise your red flags. We could use any subject in any tested grade. There is nothing out of systemic context for what you are about to review.
The 8th grade STAAR reading test in 2022-23 had 48 maximum raw score points (think of questions) on this criterion test: A student:
- PASSED the test if the student earned 17 raw points or 37% of the right answers OR 37% content mastery.
- ACHIEVED GRADE LEVEL on the test if the student earned 26 raw points or 54% of the right answers OR 54% content mastery.
In the 2022-23 testing cycle for the primary spring administration:
- 410,472 students took the 8th grade reading test.
- 82% Passed the test BUT 44% PERFORMED BELOW GRADE LEVEL
- 245,972 economically disadvantaged students took the 8th grade reading test.
- 76% passed the test BUT 56% PERFORMED BELOW GRADE LEVEL
- 221,421 at-risk students took the 8th grade reading test.
- 71% passed the test BUT 65% PERFORMED BELOW GRADE LEVEL
- 104,025 white students took the 8th grade reading test.
- 90% passed the test but 29% PERFORMED BELOW GRADE LEVEL
So, here’s your bottom-line EVEN IF your child ‘passes’ any test or achieves ‘grade level’ on any test in the system:
- When passing a criterion accountability test in 8th grade reading demands 37% content mastery and achieving grade level demands 54% content mastery: WHAT DOES IT MEAN relative to the genuine and credible grade level standards of your child?
There is an answer to that crucial question that will guide and affect your child’s life going forward. The State of Texas and the TEA don’t give you the answer in plain language.
If you want the answer, you need to take proactive steps to get the answers independently from a Texas public education system the TEA manipulated for three decades.
Here’s a tip. Being an advocate for your child is not child’s play. AEA will help you level the playing field.
PS: Those that want to believe Katy I.S.D.’s reputation protects all of its students from this harsher reality are simply wrong.