Tag Archives: TEKS

Transcript from today’s live chat on STAAR

 
11:54
HISD: 

Thank you for joining us for a live chat about STAAR. Our panelists are ready to take your questions. We have with us Mark Shenker (High School Office), Richard Blair (Middle School Office), Angela Borzon (High School Office) and Angela Miller (Curriculum). We will make every effort to answer your questions today – if we experience technical difficulties, we will switch to Twitter and replace the chat window with a live feed.
 
11:59
 
[Comment From HISD parentHISD parent: ] 

Is it better to guess on a question or leave it blank if you don’t know the answer?
 
11:59
HISD: 

Wrong answers are not counted against a student; they simply do not get credit for the question. The raw score for multiple choice items reflects the total number of correct responses. There is no downside to guessing if a student does not have time to review answer choices.
 

HISD teachers help develop curriculum for the district

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/31161260]Approximately 280 teachers from across the district have been collaborating with HISD’s Curriculum Department for the past several months to develop a high-powered, standards-based curriculum for all students in the Houston Independent School District.

They meet after school and on weekends, and educators involved in the Curriculum Writing Initiative report that their work has given them fresh insight into the necessity of focusing on standards.

“The curriculum-writing experience has opened my eyes to the importance of aligning our curriculum to the TEKS,” said Kolter Elementary School teacher Sharon Grimm. “This process will make me a better teacher and will ensure that all my students’ needs are met.”

Continue reading →

In the news: Senators’ letter on deferral of STAAR requirement

Following are links to news stories about yesterday’s letter from four state senators regarding the requirement that STAAR end-of-course exams count for 15 percent of a student’s final course grade:

Shapiro says TEA can waive STAAR requirement (Texas Tribune)

Senators support deferral of end-of-course exams’ effect on final grades (Dallas Morning News)

Central Texas districts vary on handling of new end-of-course exams (Austin American-Statesman)

Shapiro back delay on STAAR grade provision (Austin American-Statesman)

Don’t like the effects of STAAR tests on education? Opt out (Austin American-Statesman)