Sharpen that No. 2 pencil and eat a good breakfast: The state-mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests began in all of Texas’ public schools this week. The tests measure both students’ abilities and schools’ “accountability” to teach them, and stakes are high for both. Third and fifth graders must pass this week’s reading tests to move up a grade; 11th graders must pass language arts in order to graduate. But teachers and administrators also face consequences if their students perform poorly: two sets of consequences, in fact, as they face ratings and possible sanctions under both the Texas system and the federal accountability system known as No Child Left Behind. As such, AISD students have spent the year killin’ and drillin’ (i.e., test prep); however, some schools face a challenge entirely outside test scores. That challenge is attendance. NCLB requires 95% of a school’s students to take any test for the scores to count; last year, for example, LBJ High got the lowest NCLB rating solely because not enough students showed up on the day of their math tests. The idea behind the rule to keep schools from subtly encouraging students likely to perform poorly to skip school on test days in order to artificially inflate their scores. While the argument is sound, the 95% mark is a high target for low-income schools like Reagan and Johnston, where average attendance hovers around 85%. Administrators say they’re doing what they can: Reagan principal John Gonzalez, for example, spent Saturday knocking on students’ doors to encourage chronic truants to please, please, please come to school on Tuesday. “We’re just trying to explain why it’s important that they show up,” he said.
TAKS tests will continue intermittently through April.
This article appears in February 25 • 2005.