Texas education chief under fire for low passing standards on STAAR
State Education Commissioner Michael Williams came under fire from members of the Senate Education Committee Tuesday over his decision to retain low passing standards on state achievement tests for the fourth year in a row.
Some committee members suggested that social promotion of many students would result from the commissioner’s decision, while others said Williams retreated from an earlier plan to gradually raise passing standards on the STAAR as has been done in previous testing programs.
Williams insisted that Texas students are not ready to be graded by higher standards because the instruction they are receiving in core subjects is not up to the rigorous level of questioning on the STAAR.
“Our instruction has not yet risen to the level it needs to be,” he told committee members. “We haven’t jumped high enough in the classroom.”
Read more: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2014/08/education-chief-under-fire-for-low-passing-standards-on-staar.html/