Standardized Testing

Texas has recently switched to a new form of standardized testing, State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The new STAAR test replaced the outdated TAKS test, but is not any better than its predecessor. New legislation passed in 2013 was supposed to limit the number of standardized tests students would have to take each year, but those limits did not effect the preparation for them. Students still have to take a mid-year benchmark test to assess where they are at and they receive multiple packets with practice problems on them to prepare for a practice test. Standardized testing is time consuming and ineffective. Teachers are forced to change their curriculum to fit the needs of the government test, instead of teaching more closely to the course's actual curriculum. Instead of taking a weekly spelling test, elementary students now have to go through "STAAR boot camp". Students are losing out on proper education by having to focus on passing just one test per class every year. Even though Texas legislators reduced standardized testing just last year, they need to limit it more and limit the amount of preparation work that is also required for those tests.

Peer Commentary

I commented on Alexander Bainter's post about eliminating Democratic Primaries in Texas.

I understand the thought behind eliminating the Democratic Primary, but if it were eliminated we would lose part of our right to vote. Though most of us do not actually exercise our right to vote in the primaries it would not be fair to the people. The idea you have proposed does would probably help a Democratic candidate get elected to a State office because what they are doing now is not working. This article was well written and Bainter makes valid points, but it does not discuss our right to vote being infringed.