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TAB Wants Perry To Veto Bill That Reduced Number of Year End Tests

Bill Zeeble
/
KERA News

The Texas Association of Business (TAB) wants Governor Rick Perry to veto the education bill that reduced end-of-course high school exams from fifteen to five. But given how many lawmakers voted for the measure, odds seem against it.  

                    

  Bill Hammond heads the TAB and calls the education measure a bad bill. His organization was ok with fewer than the 15 exams required under the state’s STAAR test. But he didn’t’ want the number reduced to just five.

“The results form last year indicate students aren’t learning at the standards. They had to set a passing rate of Algebra 1 at 37 percent correct to get 80 percent of kids to pass the test,” said Bill Hammond.

Hammond said the state needs more testing and accountability if Texans are going to be qualified  for good jobs now and in the future.  But University of North Texas Chancellor Lee Jackson isn’t sure how much difference it would make if the TAB gets its way.

“You’d have to be awfully confident about the current test structure to say these changes would be that drastically different and bad. Higher education wasn’t that certain or invested in the prior set of tests,” said Jackson.

The Texas House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill reducing the number of end-of-course exams. Also happy with the lawmakers' decision - the TEA, parent groups,  education officials and various business organizations other than the TAB.  

Bill Zeeble has been a full-time reporter at KERA since 1992, covering everything from medicine to the Mavericks and education to environmental issues.