7 Feb 2002
Booklets Should Provide Educators, Parents, Students With Insight On New Test
DALLAS—Later this month, Dallas Independent School District students will begin taking the mastery skills test called the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills for the last time.
Next year, the test will be replaced with what Texas education officials are calling a "reconceived testing program" that focuses more on measuring students' essential knowledge and skills they will be required to know before earning a high school diploma.
The new test, called the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills or TAKS, was developed as a result of new legislation passed while Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Mike Moses was Texas Commissioner of Education under former Gov. George W. Bush.
"Quite simply, the law to establish the TAKS was passed to better reflect good instructional practice and more accurately measure student learning," Moses said. "It is hoped that all will be able to see the connection between what will be tested and what students across the state should know and be able to do to be academically successful."
The TAAS measures the statewide curriculum in reading and mathematics at grades three through eight and the exit level; in writing at grades four, eight, and the exit level; and in science and social studies at grade eight. Spanish-version TAAS tests are administered at grades three through six. Satisfactory performance on the TAAS exit level tests is prerequisite to a high school diploma.
To help provide important information about next year's change from the TAAS to the newly-developed TAKS, DISD has added a link from dallasisd.org to the Texas Education Agency's website so that citizens may download their choice of a series of booklets designed to provide a better understanding of the new testing program.
The information may be found directly at the TEA website: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/taks/booklets/index.html.
The TEA's information booklets are not intended to replace the teaching of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum or TEKS, serve as a means of "teaching the test," or become the sole source of information about the TAKS program. They are designed to provide helpful explanations, show sample problems, reading/writing selections, and give educators a good sense of the forthcoming assessment.
The information booklets for each subject area contain some information unique to that subject. For example, the mathematics chart that students will use on TAKS is included for each grade that will be assessed. All booklets include the following information, which is considered critical for every subject area TAKS test:
* information that clarifies how to read the TEKS
* an overview of the subject within the context of TAKS
* the objectives and TEKS student expectations that will be included on TAKS
* the reasons each objective and its TEKS student expectations are critical to student learning and success
* additional information about each objective that will help educators understand how it might be assessed on TAKS
* sample items, reading/writing selections, and prompts that show some of the ways objectives might be assessed
Each TAKS information booklet includes more than one grade so that teachers are able to develop a broad perspective of the assessment. Each booklet was divided into several files for ease in downloading.
"We are encouraging all of our principals, teachers and parents to take a look at these booklets and begin paving the way for the switch from TAAS to TAKS next year," Moses said. "But just as importantly, we are continuing to encourage our students to learn as much as they can and become as proficient as possible, not so the school district can boast of good accountability ratings later, but so that our kids can grow up to make productive contributions to society with a first-class education."
TAAS testing begins Feb. 19-21, 2002.
TAKS will be given next year on Feb. 25, March 4, and April 29-May 2, 2003. Re-testing will be July 8-10, 2003.