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Currently, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) grades Texas public schools on an A-F scale. However, for elementary and middle school campuses, the only element they are graded on is their students’ STAAR Test scores.
In October 2021, Raise Your Hand Texas set out to have conversations with over 10,000 people across the state about Assessment and Accountability. We listened and learned what qualities they want most from their public schools and what they want for the future of Texas public education.
We strongly believe that our students are more than one test on one day. From last fall to May 2022, we sought out feedback from teachers, parents, administrators, students, and community members to see what else should be added to the equation that holds our schools accountable. We took their feedback, and with the help of a group of education and business leaders, teachers, school board trustees, and advocates, Raise Your Hand Texas’ Measure What Matters Council compiled a series of policy recommendations aimed at revamping our accountability system. These recommendations along with research on other accountability systems can be found in A Report from the Measure What Matters Assessment & Accountability Council.
Our statewide team of Regional Advocacy Directors held conversations across the state of Texas by hosting listening circles, then guided attendees to a survey. To ensure we heard from all corners of Texas and increase accessibility, we also launched an online version promoted through social media, websites, community groups, and more to encourage all Texans to have a voice. Their community-based efforts and our online outreach resulted in more than 15,600 completed surveys from parents, educators, students, and community members. That effort included hearing from parents, educators, students, and community members across our state.
Our statewide outreach was comprehensive. We visited with school districts, schools, PTAs, other parent groups, as well as civic, community and business groups across Texas.
What the data tells us is that Texans believe in accountability, but want more out of the current A-F system for our schools. More than 80% of respondents said they do not believe the STAAR Test alone can effectively determine if their child’s school is good or not.
They also overwhelmingly said the STAAR Test is not enough to accurately assess the effectiveness of our schools. Only 1% of respondents felt the STAAR Test was a very accurate measure of a school.
Our outreach was comprehensive in who we heard from as well as where they are. Listening circles were held and responses came in from every region of the state.
Texans are telling us they are not satisfied with the current system. Texans want more from the state when it comes to rating our schools because more goes into a school year than one test on one day.
It is time to Measure What Matters.
What happened with all this feedback we received from Texans? All of the results were reviewed by our Measure What Matters Advisory Council, as well as Raise Your Hand Texas’ policy team. Additional research and survey results were gathered and used to shape our Assessment and Accountability policy recommendations for the 2023 legislative session.
The Measure What Matters Assessment and Accountability Council was announced in January 2022. Later that month, the first-ever Measure What Matters Conference was held in-person and live-streamed. The event featured presentations from experts in their field on assessment and accountability and advocacy. Learn more about the conference, view videos and presentations below.
