With the new STAAR test, estimates are that testing and test prep encompass at least 30% of instructional time. We want to see less testing and more teaching. We, the parents, students, and teachers of Houston ISD call upon the trustees of the school board to:
1. Adopt the Pro-Learning resolution (http://bit.ly/I81Eth) already passed by over 10% of school districts in Texas that “an over-reliance on standardized, high stakes testing ... is strangling our public schools and undermining any chance to transform a traditional system of schooling into a broad range of learning experiences that better prepares our students to live successfully and be competitive on a global stage.”
2. Reduce Benchmarking (practice tests for STAAR and TAKS) to no more than 5 hours per subject per semester.
3. Support the Save Texas Schools Platform that the Texas Legislature restore all school funding cuts made by the 2011 legislature and provide sufficient resources for our growing student population and fix the $5 billion annual structural deficit to avoid further cuts to education.
4. Adopt a GPA calculation policy that excludes the STAAR test using the Spring Branch ISD policy as a model.
5. Support a teacher appraisal and evaluation system based on classroom observations with multi-year test scores counting no more than 20% and delayed until after STAAR is normed.
6. Support a 10% cut in salaries of HISD employees making over $120,000/yr before any more school-based positions are cut. Fewer teachers means larger class sizes; this is not good for children.
Please sign today and share with your family and friends that support public education.