Call for changes to standardized tests

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Some big news may be ahead concerning standardized tests for Texas students.

Due to the $4 billion cut in education funding from this past legislative session, Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott called for changes to the way Texas students are tested on standardized tests.

During the Midwinter conference for the Texas Association of School Administrators in Austin, Scott told a crowd of hundreds of administrators and school board trustees that because of recent budget cuts he understood that schools might not have the resources to properly prepare students for new high-stakes tests.

Specifically the new exams for high school students who now must pass 12 end-of-course tests under the new STAAR system in order to graduate. Those exams also will count towards 15 percent of their final grade. That's starting with the class of 2015.

The comment that drew the most applause was when Scott stated, "I believe that testing is good for some things, but the system that we created has become a perversion of its original intent. The intent to improve teaching and learning has gone too far afield, and I look forward to reeling it back in."

So the next question is - how will he do that?

One option would be an appropriations request to the Legislature, which doesn't meet again until next year, to provide enough funding to cover the cost of these higher standards in the classroom.

If that doesn't happen he can also not certify or implement the state's testing system - which likely won't happen.

Wednesday morning the Texas State Teachers Association will be at the state Capitol to announce an initiative aimed at averting more cuts to the state's public education budget.