Blog Stage Three

This editorial by Tom Pauken discusses the new standardized test that Texas students must take, the STAAR.  This test has replaced the TAKS test and the grade on this test accounts for fifteen percent of a student’s final grade in that particular subject.  I am so glad I got out of high school when I did.  These students may have to take up to fifteen of these tests before they get out of high school.  This test is supposed to make students college ready, but what this test fails to take into account is that not all students want to go to a four-year college after they graduate. Pauken does recognize that there needs to be some way to check school accountability, but he points out that even the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, Robert Scott, said that the system we have implemented to do this “has become a perversion of its original intent.”

Pauken also points out that there are many necessary jobs out there that do not require one to have a college degree.  The emphasis on college may turn off some students and as a result many drop out.  Pauken says, “Many of these students, who may not thrive in a classroom setting, would benefit from the opportunity to receive training that leads to an industry-certified credential.”  I believe this statement to be true because I had a few friends in high school who were not the best students and became very discouraged when they saw their TAKS scores.  Yet, they were great with cars and if there were a program at school that would train them to be an automotive technician then they would have had a brighter future. The regimented schooling gave them this mindset that if they didn’t succeed in school, they wouldn’t succeed in anything. 

There actually was a program in the school district in Houston that I went to before I moved to Austin called the Miller Career Center.  This was a place where students who didn’t see themselves going to a university after high school could go and learn trades such as automotive technician, cosmetology, EMT, and many others.  Pauken also talks about the need for younger people to become a part of the skilled trade workforce.  Many welders, plumbers, and masonry craftsmen are hitting retirement age, leaving a space that could be filled by these students who do not plan on going to a university. I absolutely agree with Pauken’s idea that schooling should be focused more on individual needs and we should not measure each child’s intelligence based on a test.

I think Pauken’s audiences for this article are all the individuals involved in education.  Such as legislators, teachers, parents, and students.

I believe that Pauken’s complaints, coupled with the complaints of many others, about the current way of testing could possibly lead to changes in legislation about standardized testing in Texas.

I believe Pauken is a knowledgeable man in many political areas since he has held some political positions over the years.  Though he never held any positions related directly to education, but I still believe he is credible because I have seen this phenomenon where students become discouraged because of the standardized tests and may end up dropping out.  Like I said earlier, there should be programs in school that teach students trades so those students who don’t feel like they’re cut out for college. 

Blog Stage Two

On August 31, 2012 the Texas Tribune published an article, "For Some Texas Schools, Demographic Future is Now."  

        I believe this article is worth reading because it addresses the issues in the Texas public education system, the importance of a solid education system, and gives ideas on how to improve it.  In the year two thousand and eleven Texas hit two educational landmarks.  Hispanics made up the majority of public school students and legislature did not finance the growth in enrollment in state schools.  These two combined will really hit Texas schools hard since it is predicted that by 2050 there will be nine million students in Texas public schools and right now around sixty percent of Texas students are economically disadvantaged.  Many of these students who are economically disadvantaged are Hispanic students. Statistics show that this population of students is less likely to graduate high school and the ones who do are ill prepared for college.  This is bad news for Texas because the future of Texas is tied to the minority and the younger population.  Yet, this article shows that there is hope for those kinds of students. The Laredo school district, a school district where nearly all students are poor and Hispanic, has already created a new solution to this problem.  The Laredo ISD has raised graduation rates by encouraging students to wear their favorite college shirts to class, making teachers familiar with issues students face outside of school, and partnering with the local community college so students can gain college credit while in high school. The goal of this program is to change the expectations that the students had for themselves and to show them that what situation they were born into does not have to be their lot in life.  This article is a worthwhile read because it relates directly to the education crisis that Texas is facing today due to the 2011 budget cuts that severely reduced public education financing.  People need to realize that Texas is full of younger, not older, individuals who need to be educated to ensure the success of the next generation.