Lawmakers propose education reforms, may axe TAKS test

Leave it to the UT campus newspaper to have the best article on legislation about the TAKS Test and college tuition.

Lawmakers propose education reforms, may axe TAKS test

State legislators have until the end of May to decide how much of the state's surplus budget will fund education reform, but bills that have already
been filed will make lawmakers reevaluate several of Texas' education policies. Bills pre-filed for the 80th Legislative Session aim to reform or repeal past legislation.
Those bills will affect high school students' academic assessment, college admissions and the increasing cost of tuition.
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test, used to evaluate the progress of students, is in jeopardy of being replaced by end-of-course assessment tests in upper grade levels. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, the chair of the Senate Education Committee, are among the legislators poised to eliminate the TAKS test. Critics of the TAKS test cite "teaching to the test" and the multiplechoice format for its ineffectiveness.
House Bill 212, filed by Houston-area republican Rep. Beverly Woolley, proposes to repeal the top 10 percent admissions policy. The rule guarantees admission to public state universities for those in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. Lawmakers have criticized the rule for forcing students from more academically competitive schools to universities out of state.
Several bills which would directly impact college students are the bills leveled at tuition rates. Three years after the Legislature gave university regents the power to decide tuition rates, the average cost of tuition and fees at public universities has risen more than $2,000, according to figures from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. UT tuition increased 57 percent during the same period. Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-Mission, pre-filed a bill in November to freeze tuition rates for three years and cap annual increases at 5 percent thereafter.
A similar bill written by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would repeal deregulation in three years unless lawmakers pass legislation to continue it.
The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association estimated the cost of education and finance reform will be more than $10 billion, but no matter how much money is put toward reform, the biggest change to the state's education system may come from bills passed during this legislative session.

The one good thing that I see out of all of this is the fact that there are actually people in the State legislature who are using their head as well as seeing how things are actually going on in the rest of the state.