Hays CISD public school teacher Jennifer Weathers has had to adapt and grow due to pandemic just like millions of other educators around the world. However, it has not been all negative as the mindset surrounding the standardization of education has begun to shift more rapidly due to the current circumstances.
Since joining the district in 2015 Weathers has seen a change in how we view education.
“Education has become more fluid and personalized, and they are trying to go in a way that fits more kids,” Weathers said. “Standardized forms of education only work for a certain type of kid.”
Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a greater focus on flexibly, accommodations and supporting students as they navigate virtual learning. She hopes that although COVID-19 has put a great strain on the education system, it has the possibility of changing how things are done due to the adaptations that have been made. She thinks changing the way we view education and standardized testing could have a positive impact on student learning and creativity.
During the first COVID-19 shutdown in spring 2020 educators, administrators and students were all forced to adjust to a new learning environment. This led to many changes including virtual learning and standardized testing. On March 16 Texas Governor Greg Abbot waived all state testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year. As of the 2020-2021 school year, state testing has resumed with students completing their assessments virtually. While students get back into the testing routine a bill has been proposed during the current Texas Legislative session in the House to change how we evaluate student growth.
Every April hundreds of thousands of Texas students take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The STAAR test is a state mandated exam taken by students grades 3-12. Students take multiple STAAR tests every year over various subjects which differ grade to grade. In order to advance to the next grade students must pass the exam. The test consists of multiple-choice questions as well as several prompted essays taken over a course of several consecutive hours. The STAAR test serves as the assessment tool to decide if a student advances past the course.
There has long been debate over whether this manner of standardized testing is the most effective means of measuring a student ability and growth. State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, filed House Bill 2344 on Feb. 25. The bill would replace the written portion of the STAAR test with a writing portfolio. On March 30 Zwiener presented the bill to the Public Education committee and testimony was heard.
“Good writing combines a clear line of thinking with precise and accessible language that allows the reader to comprehend and hopefully be sympathetic towards the writer’s ideas,” Zwiener said before the Public Education committee. “Our standardized writing assessments stand in the way of this, teaching a formula over content and prioritizing a rubric over good communication.”
Students would spend time throughout the year working on various essays to submit as their writing portfolio. From there, an educator either on campus or within the school district would evaluate the portfolios in order to assess student growth and determine if they are ready to advance to the next grade.
“It’s not realistic to make kids take a test when in the real world they are never going to have to take a test,” Weathers said. “It’s more likely they are going to have to perform some kind of activity so doing a portfolio where it shows that they’re growing and learning and being able to do something other than a formulaic response to a generic boring prompt is more authentic.”
Zwiener told the committee that HB 2344 seeks to build off of the work of the Texas Writing Pilot program. The Texas Writing Pilot program was a result of the passage of HB 1164 during the 2015 legislative session. The program, effective during the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 school years, allowed school districts across the state to participate in a pilot study to measure the effectiveness of a writing portfolio program on campus compared to the traditional written assessment taken via the STAAR test. Over 30,000 students participated in the program.
Dripping Springs ISD was a part of the Texas Writing Pilot program. Rachel Sheshan is an active member of the PTA in Dripping Springs and volunteered to help implement the program on her children’s campuses.
“A lot of kids’ experience test anxiety and the feeling they get when having to write from a prompt on the STAAR or do anything with the STAAR. That panic that they feel, and I feel like the portfolio took away some of that panic,” Sheshan said in testimony before the Public Education Committee in March,
Bruce Gearing was the superintendent of Dripping Springs ISD at the time and testified before the same meeting.
“Writing is one of those areas that is much better assessed over time and measuring growth rather than a one-time stand-alone assessment in a high-stakes environment,” Gearing said.
Gearing, now superintendent of Leander ISD, said he supported the program.
Throughout the past few years there has been a general push by educators away from standardized testing to a more project-based approach to teaching and learning. Zwiener was an educator for several years prior to becoming a state representative.
“Portfolio writing assessments can provide a better and more thorough assessment of students’ progress in writing without the negative impacts of standardized writing testing,” Zwiener said.
Due to the current pandemic there have been changes in the education community including virtual schooling, increased flexibility and the need for educators to find new and creative ways to teach and engage their students. The implementation of a writing portfolio follows these trends.
Due to the way the test is designed students are not encouraged to be independent writers but instead to be able to conform to the conditions set by the STAAR test and regurgitate an essay to fit a rubric.
Rep. Vandeaver, R-New Boston, is a former teacher and school administrator and has served on the Public Education Committee since 2015. Vandeaver was one of the authors of HB 1164 which led to the Texas Writing Pilot program.
“When we were working with this, we found the very prescriptive 26-line essay was just not conducive to teaching good writing.”[MR-R1] Vandeaver said when commenting on the program during the committee hearing.
HB 2344 was left pending in committee as of March 30. On April 23 the bill was approved by all 12 members of the Public Education Committee and has since been sent to the full House. The Committee will recommend to the House to pass the bill.
The bill’s co-sponsors are bi partisan including Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, Rep. Gary Vandeaver, R-New Boston, Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Soldado, and Rep. J.M. Lozano, R-Kingsville.
“We can have a lot of different conversations about standardized testing and reach different conclusions,” Zwiener said, “but one thing is clear. Standardized tests do not measure good writing well and they can actually create an aversion to writing in students.”
