© 2024 Texas Public Radio
Real. Reliable. Texas Public Radio.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Parents Testify As Legislative Committee Considers Fewer Primary School Tests

Ryan E. Poppe
/
TPR News
Testimony before the Texas House Public Education Interim Committee.

During the previous legislative session the Texas Legislature passed a bill that reduced testing for high school students. This week lawmakers on the House Public Education Committee discussed the possibility of doing the same for students in elementary and middle schools. 

Michelle Perry, who has a son in the 7th grade, testified before the interim committee about how tests have contributed to her son losing interest in school.

"Standardized testing has put a lot of stress on him and anxiety and a dislike for school for a child that loved to learn," Perry said. "And then [when] he got into the school system it became all about the test -- study, study, study -- if you don’t the pass you don’t move on. You have to pass the tests."

Perry says her son also struggles with a learning disability

"And when they have things like that it creates other issues that makes them not a standard, so we give them a standardized tests and it doesn’t fit every student” 

Perry said her son spends 30-40 days of his school year dedicated to testing and testing preparation.

"They do benchmarks constantly," Perry said. "If you don’t make benchmarks you’ll be pulled out for more testing then your sent to mandatory tutoring and then it trickles; it just snowballs."

Perry said she would like the state to test students on their individual successes in the classroom -- having  individual target goals. Lawmakers will use this week’s testimony to formulate possible legislation during the 2015 session.

Ryan started his radio career in 2002 working for Austin’s News Radio KLBJ-AM as a show producer for the station's organic gardening shows. This slowly evolved into a role as the morning show producer and later as the group’s executive producer.