If not STAAR, then what?
‘Invalid indicators’
Regarding “Cancel STAAR,” (A18, July 22): We agree state-mandated standardized exams should be the “last thing” students and teachers need to worry about. A substantial body of research shows that current tests are indeed “invalid indicators of student progress.”
The next question is: If not STAAR, then what?
When it comes to testing, two kinds of growth can be assessed.
“Growth” can be evaluated relative to achievement — how much students have learned. Or “growth” can be evaluated on a scale similar to measurements of height. Just as children get taller with age, they also get generally better at certain kinds of problem-solving tasks.
The first kind of growth — in achievement — is the only kind for which schools can be held accountable. But current assessment methodologies give results that behave like measures of biological growth. Such results are of little use to teachers — the first responders of our school system.
Tests intended to address inequalities in our educational system end up having the opposite effect: keeping groups of students in the same relative position year after year.
The last time our legislators gathered in Austin, they passed a bill, HB 3906, directing the Texas Education Agency to “establish a pilot program” field-testing alternative measures of achievement. Let’s put that mandate into action and help schools and teachers do what they do best — educate our children. Walter Stroup, chair of the department of STEM education and teacher development and an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; Anthony Petrosino, associate dean for research and outreach in Southern Methodist University’s Simmons School
Rare use of stamps
Regarding “Cost, hassle of stamps questioned as mail-in voting surges,” (A4, July 19): Some find it hard to believe someone of voting age has never used a stamp and, if they have not, it’s questionable whether they should be allowed to vote. Our 19-yearold grandson had never used a stamp until recently when sending handwritten thankyou notes for graduation gifts. Among other things, he is an Eagle Scout, graduate of St. John’s School in Houston, scored 1590 on the SAT and was accepted to the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas, planning on an engineering degree. In other words, he is well above average in ambition and intelligence.
In the past, his mother addressed his thank-you notes (his cursive is terrible because it isn’t prioritized in today’s educational curriculum) but had him do it for his recent graduation gifts. One came back because of a wrong address and she noticed the stamp was on the back side of the envelope from the address. There is no question he has the ability to figure out how to place a stamp but probably figured, “Hey, a stamp is on the envelope, what’s the big deal where it is?” Except for his mother’s insistence he handwrite the address and mail the notes, he just never had a need to prepare snail mail. I’m confident he is not the only 19-year-old in this electronic age who hasn’t used stamps but probably did more research regarding political candidates than the typical voter when casting his votes in the primaries.
Gary Frueh, Katy