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Definitions
and Relationships|
Academic Level |
Languages Available
|
TAAS Tests
|
| Grade 3 | Spanish, English | reading and mathematics |
| Grade 4 | Spanish, English | reading, mathematics, and writing |
| Grade 5 | Spanish, English | reading and mathematics |
| Grade 6 | Spanish, English | reading and mathematics |
| Grade 7 | English | reading and mathematics |
| Grade 8 | English | reading, mathematics, writing, science, and social studies |
| exit level (beginning Grade 10)* | English | reading and mathematics |
| * There are also four End-of-Course exams: Algebra I, Biology, US History, and English II | ||
Why do TAAS and TEKS stress only reading, writing and math?
The curriculum TEKS stresses the following subjects as foundation subjects:
- English language arts and reading
- mathematics
- science
- social studies
English language arts and reading and mathematics are presently tested on the TAAS test. Science and social studies will be added to the TAAS exit exam in the spring of 2005.
School districts are required to provide instruction in the essential knowledge and skills of these four as appropriate per grade level. But successfully passing the TAAS or three of the four end-of-course exams is not the only requirement for graduation with receipt of a Texas high school diploma. Students must also earn these 24 credits:
- English Credits - 4
- Math Credits - 3
- Science Credits - 3
- History Credits - 4
- Second Language Credits - 1
- Physical Education Credits - 1.5
- Additional Components Credits - 3
- Elective Credits - 3
- Technology Credits - 1
- Health Credits - .5
Are these the only skills that we should be emphasizing?
Besides reading, writing and math, districts must provide instruction in science and social studies, since these two are foundation subjects. The state curriculum TEKS also stresses courses other than the foundation subjects; these are called enrichment courses. Courses such as foreign languages, health, PE, and business and technology applications are among the enrichment subjects.
Should all teachers be emphasizing just these three skill sets?
No. Our group feels that teachers should teach whatever skills students need to know and that are appropriate for the classroom. Students need help in preparing to become adults. They need guidance and knowledge necessary to solve personal and societal problems. Also, teachers need to be teaching skills specific to their class subject. For instance, the drama teacher needs to teach drama and the auto mechanics teacher needs to teach auto mechanics, not just TAAS writing and math skills.
Information from the TEA website about TAAS (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/) also supports teaching beyond these three skills. While TEA strongly encourages students to learn the foundation subject and tests this with the TAAS test, there is an alternative. Presently, students can satisfy the testing requirements for graduation by passing three of the four end of course exams. If a student decides to take the end of course exams instead of the exit TAAS, he must pass the Algebra I, English II, and either Biology or US History. Note: This option will no longer be available after spring 2002.
High school students graduating by spring 2005 or later will be required to pass a new exit level TAAS test. This test includes not only English language arts and mathematics, but also includes science and social studies.
In July 1997, the State Board of Education adopted the Texas Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS) as Texas' new statewide required curriculum. TEKS replaced the former mandated curriculum known as essential elements. The TEKS became effective in all content area in September 1998. Thus, if TEKS is the essential information to be taught and TAAS is testing to see if Texas students have the proper "foundation," then the TEKS and the TAAS must somehow relate to each other.
The performance standards of TEKS focus on the educational competencies and outcomes that students must demonstrate. TEKS therefore outlines for Texas educators what information must or should be taught in schools. The standards are, by design, minimum proficiencies. Performance standards, according to Chris Patterson, Director of Education Policy of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, use academic content for educational outcomes, creating what he calls "wise-consumers", "problem-solvers" and "critical-thinkers." Academic learning or factual knowledge is designed as a subskill and less important than these higher order thinking skills (Patterson).
In order to emphasize how the TAAS test objectives and TEKS are linked from grade to grade for each subject area, information is provided to teachers in books called "educator's guides." The guides, which are also distributed by TEA, are grouped by grade level and subject area. The purpose of these educator's guides is to point out to educators which components of TEKS are eligible for testing on the TAAS. TEKS and TAAS must be aligned for the test to be valid. Interestingly, the skills that TAAS tests are mostly recall and term definitions, lower thinking skills. So, while the information between TAAS and TEKS are aligned, the academic learning skills are not.
As specified by Texas Education Code (TEC), the required curriculum in Texas schools consists of both foundation and enrichment subjects.
Foundation subjects, as specified in TEC Chapter 28 include:
- English Language Arts and Reading
- Mathematics
- Science
- Social Studies
- Spanish Language Arts
- English as a Second Language
The enrichment subjects include:
- Agricultural Science and Technology
- Business Education
- Career Orientation
- Fine Arts
- Health
- Health Science Technologies
- Home Economics Education
- Languages Other Than English
- Marketing Education
- Physical Education
- Technology Applications
- Technology Education/Industrial Technology Education
- Trade and Industrial Education (TEKS)
The Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) is an instructional program designed to evaluate the readiness of students' skills for performing academic work at the college level. A major impetus for the development of the TASP was a report prepared by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) entitled, "A Generation of Failure: The Case for Testing and Remediation in Texas Higher Education" published in 1986 (THECB).
"Every year more than 110,000 freshmen enter Texas public colleges and universities. Of these, at least 30,000 cannot read, communicate, or compute at levels needed to perform effectively in higher education. Some become college dropouts -- not because they lack the ability, but because they lack the skills. Others receive degrees without ever mastering basic skills. The tragedy is that we often do not know they are deficient until it is too late to help them. We do not know who they are or where they are. But we do know they represent a generation of failure in our educational system" (THECB).
In large part because of this report, the Texas legislature mandated the development and implementation of a basic skills test in 1987. (See also Texas Education Code TEC 51.306)
The TASP test is used to ensure that students entering institutions of higher learning have the skills needed to successfully perform. Texas high school students must first pass all exit-level TAAS tests before taking any version of the official TASP test, including alternative tests, for TASP purposes. Students found not proficient in an academic area must work to improve their skills. For that reason, colleges and universities are required to offer advisory and support services related to the TASP test (TASP).
The TASP is divided into three sections:
- Reading - comprised of 40 multiple choice items based on a reading passage. "The passages reflect college level texts difficulty", according to the TASP website.
- Mathematics - comprised of 50 multiple choice items covering four general areas.
- Writing - comprised of a writing sample assignment and 40 multiple choice questions associated with the passage.
What is the relationship between TAAS and TEKS?
Prior to 1997, TAAS reflected the objectives expressed in the Essential Elements, the existing statewide curriculum. In July of 1997 the State Board of Education adopted the TEKS. TAAS and TEKS were aligned, according to TEA. As a result of this alignment TEKS statements replaced the former instructional targets for each subject and grade level. The skills tested by the new test are now expressed in the language of the TEKS. In the 1998-1999 school year, TAAS assessed skills outlined in the Essential Elements and the TEKS. Skills contained in the Essential Elements but not the TEKS were then phased out. During the 1999-2000 school year, the TAAS test became fully integrated into the TEKS curriculum. These standards were fully demonstrated in the TAAS administered in the spring of 2000.
The Educator's Guide to TEKS-based Assessment: Exit Level TAAS 1999-2000 details the alignment between TEKS and TAAS. In the guide, information on the number of the knowledge and skill statement from TEKS is given, along with the specific subsections of that statement with exclusions thereof and the course from which the statement is from. For example:
Exit Level Mathematics:
TAAS Objective 10:
The student will estimate solutions to a problem situation.
(TEKS objective 8.3) Patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking.The student identifies proportional relationships in problem situations and solves problems. The student is expected to: (B) estimate and find solutions to application problems involving percents and proportional relationships, such as similarity and rates - M8(TEA).
This portion of Objective 8 is from the TEKS from Grade 8 Mathematics (M8), the third skill (8.3), and it only covers the (B) portion of that skill, and excludes the (A) portion. Additionally, only estimating a solution is tested, not actually finding the solution (TASP).
After reviewing the entire guide, it is clear that the TAAS is not entirely consistent in testing high school level competencies. Exit Level Reading and Writing are stated to test Grade 8 English Language Arts, English I and English II (TEA). This means that an average student who has completed the 10th grade should have the requisite knowledge to pass these portions of the Exit Level TASS. By contrast, Exit Level Mathematics is stated as testing only Grade 8 Mathematics and Algebra I (TASP). Since the average student should have completed Algebra I by the end of their freshman year, it is not testing 10-12 grade math skills or knowledge. The Exit Level TAAS test is currently first administered at the end of the 10th grade year. It is difficult to see how this agrees with the stated goal of testing students for basic skills acquired in high school (TASP) since it is only testing through 10th grade.
In reading the stated objectives of the TAAS, one gets the impression that higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning are addressed. Phrases like, "Connect, compare, and contrast ideas, themes, and issues across texts" (TEA). The sample test question that goes with this objective is to be answered after reading a one page passage.
How would Franco probably complete the last sentence of the passage: "For my career I would like to be a _______?"
- Writer
- Doctor
- Teacher
- Mechanic
It may be argued that this question is at the analysis level. However after reading the passage, this question seems to be more at the comprehension level. Thus students are not being tested at the higher levels of cognitive skills, but only at the most rudimentary levels.
TEKS, as an outline of what is to be taught in Texas schools is highly proscriptive. As clearly stated in Chapter 74 of the 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), "A school district must provide instruction in the essential knowledge and skills of the appropriate grade levels in the foundation curriculum as specified. A school district may add elements at its discretion but must not delete or omit instruction in the foundation curriculum specified in subsection (a) of this section" (TEA).
There are not mandates on how the material can be taught, "The school district may provide instruction in a variety of arrangements and settings, including mixed-age programs designed to permit flexible learning arrangements for developmentally appropriate instruction for all student populations to attainment of course and grade level standards" (TEA). However, we feel that because of the minute detail that is given in what must be covered, teachers may find it difficult to teach in more progressive ways.
What is the relationship between TAAS and TASP?
The exit-level TAAS and TASP vary somewhat in their relationship as testing measurements of basic skills. The exit-level TAAS is designed to measure basic skills in reading, writing and math in grade 10. The TASP is an accountability program designed to see if students entering college in the State of Texas have the functional ability in reading, writing and math deemed necessary to handle the rigors of college level class work. Texas is one of the few states in the country that currently uses a system where there are two tests - TAAS as exit-level criteria for graduation from high school and TASP as entrance criteria for admission to college in the State of Texas.
Scores on the exit-level TAAS are reported using the Texas Learning Index (TLI). The Texas Education Agency describes the TLI as follows:
The TLI is a score that describes how far a student’s performance is above or below the passing standard. TLI is provided for both the TAAS reading and mathematics tests at grades 3 through 8 and at the exit level. When a student takes the TAAS, one piece of information that is produced is a “raw score.” A raw score is simply the number of items that are answered correctly on a test. For example, there are 56 items on a test, and the student has answered 49 of them correctly. Forty-nine is the raw score. Since a raw score can only be interpreted in relation to the number of items on a particular test, this score is limited in its use. The TLI was developed to allow students, parents, and schools both to relate student performance to passing standard and to compare student performance from year to year.
The TLI is calculated using the raw score, converting that to a z-score then that z-score is converted to a T-score, which is finally converted to the TLI. A complete explanation of this process can be found in the Texas Student Assessment Program Technical Digest for the Academic Year 1998-1999, pages 34 and 35 (TEA). The TLI is only used on the reading and math portions of the TAAS. The score for the writing portion of the exit level TAAS is determined using a scaled score, the calculation of which is slightly less complicated than that of the TLI. A complete explanation of the Scale Score can also be found in the Technical Digest, page 33 (TEA).
Based upon the scoring objectives, if a student scores 1770 on the TAAS writing test, and a TLI score of 86 on the TAAS math test, and a TLI score of 89 on the TAAS reading test, they are exempt from taking the TASP test.
The Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS), which is an annual report on schools in the State of Texas, has a comparison of TAAS/TASP equivalency. This is defined as:
The percent of graduates from the class …who did well enough on the exit-level TAAS to have a 75% likelihood of passing the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) test.
To be counted for this indicator, a student must have achieved a TLI of X-81 of higher on the TAAS reading test, a TLI of X-77 or higher on the TAAS mathematics test, and a scale score of 1540 or higher on the TAAS writing test (TEA).
From the Academic Excellence Indicator System 1998-99 State Performance Report (TEA) the following percentages were reported:
|
TAAS/TASP Equiv.
|
State
|
African
American |
Hispanic
|
White
|
Native
American |
Asian/
Pac.Is. |
|
Class of 1998
|
45.0%
|
25.6%
|
30.3%
|
56.4%
|
42.6%
|
60.6%
|
|
Class of 1997
|
41.2%
|
20.5%
|
25.7%
|
52.7%
|
42.0%
|
56.2% |
| TAAS/TASP Equiv. | Male | Female | Econ. Disadv. |
Special Educ. |
|
Class of 1998
|
45.7%
|
44.4%
|
27.3%
|
10.0%
|
|
Class of 1997
|
43.7%
|
38.9%
|
23.3%
|
8.5%
|
This TAAS/TASP Equivalency has a confusing construct. According to this equivalency, 30.3% of Hispanic students who were in the graduating class of 1998 have a 75% likelihood of passing the TASP based on their Exit Level TAAS scores. How this equivalency was determined is not clearly documented, and there is no evidence of any work to confirm that this equivalency is accurate.
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