House passes public education bill to reform standardized testing

The bill's two opposing votes came from Reps. Mark Strama of Austin and Naomi Gonzalez of El Paso, both Democrats.

Strama said he voted against it because, while he believes testing should be reformed, the bill as it is does not push students to their highest potential and risks graduating students before they are ready.

"I'm not saying that defaulting every kid into a college prep program means all kids want or need college prep coursework," Strama said. "But when we presume all kids are capable of college-level work, and start preparing them for it, there is no doubt in my mind we change the futures of some kids whose promise may not otherwise have been recognized."

State leaders at the beginning of the legislative session promised to reform the state's method of end-of-course testing though the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness system, which critics said forced teachers to focus too heavily on tests.

The bill replaces the minimum, recommended and advanced high school programs with a 24-credit foundation high school program starting in the 2014–15 school year.

It allows local districts to have a say in some graduation requirements, provides for "endorsements" for students upon graduation and helps find work and apprenticeships for students who are seeking to skip college altogether.

"As a former educator, I find it important to ensure our teachers are able to educate students on information important to preparing them for their future, rather than preparing them for standardized testing," said Rep. James White, R-Woodville. "I am proud to have worked alongside my House colleagues to ensure we come out of this session giving our educators the ability to ready our schoolchildren for their next step, be that higher education or workforce preparation."