Clear Creek ISD Testing Resolution
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
RESOLUTION CONCERNING HIGH STAKES, STANDARDIZED TESTING
OF TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
STATE OF TEXAS §
COUNTY OF GALVESTON
WHEREAS, the over reliance on standardized, high stakes testing as the only assessment of learning that really matters in the state andfederal accountability systems is strangling our public schools and undermining any chance that educators have to transform a traditional system of schooling into a broad range of learning experiences thatbetter prepares our students to live successfully and be competitive on a global stage; and
WHEREAS, we commend Robert Scott, Commissioner of Education, for hisconcern about the overemphasis on high stakes testing that has become”a perversion of its original intent” and for his continuingsupport of high standards and local accountability; and
WHEREAS, we believe our state’s future prosperity relies on ahigh-quality education system that prepares students for college andcareers, and without such a system Texas’ economic competitivenessand ability and to attract new business will falter; and
WHEREAS, the real work of designing more engaging student learningexperiences requires changes in the culture and structure of thesystems in which teachers and students work; and
WHEREAS, what occurs in our classrooms every day should bestudent-centered and result in students learning at a deep andmeaningful level, as opposed to the superficial level of learning thatresults from the current over-emphasis on that which can be easilytested by standardized tests; and
WHEREAS, We believe in the tenets set out in Creating a New Vision forPublic Education in Texas (TASA, 2008) and our goal is to transformthis district in accordance with those tenets; and
WHEREAS, Our vision is for all students to be engaged in moremeaningful learning activities that cultivate their unique individualtalents, to provide for student choice in work that is designed torespect how they learn best, and to embrace the concept that studentscan be both consumers and creators of knowledge; and
WHEREAS, only by developing new capacities and conditions in districtsand schools, and the communities in which they are embedded, will weensure that all learning spaces foster and celebrate innovation,creativity, problem solving, collaboration, communication and criticalthinking; and
WHEREAS, these are the very skills that business leaders desire in arising workforce and the very attitudes that are essential to thesurvival of our democracy; and
WHEREAS, imposing relentless test preparation and boring memorizationof facts to enhance test performance is doing little more thanstealing the love of learning from our students and assuring that wefall short of our goals; and
WHEREAS, we do not oppose accountability in public schools and wepoint with pride to the performance of our students, but believe thatthe system of the past will not prepare our students to lead in thefuture and neither will the standardized tests that so dominate theirinstructional time and block our ability to make progress toward aworld-class education system of student-centered schools andfuture-ready students; therefore be it
RESOLVED that the Clear Creek ISD Board of Trustees calls on the TexasLegislature to reexamine the public school accountability system inTexas and to develop a system that encompasses multiple assessments,reflects greater validity, uses more cost efficient samplingtechniques and other external evaluation arrangements, and moreaccurately reflects what students know, appreciate and can do in termsof the rigorous standards essential to their success, enhances therole of teachers as designers, guides to instruction and leaders, andnurtures the sense of inquiry and love of learning in allstudents.
PASSED AND APPROVED on this 27 day of February, 2012.
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