Local Third Graders Pass TAKS Test
All GCISD third graders passed the new Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) reading test, administered March 4, according to Superintendent Steve Long.
Statewide, more kids passed the test than had been predicted, according to the Texas Education Agency, which credits the statewide reading initiative of the past few years. TEA report that 89 percent passed the English version of the test, while 82 percent passed the Spanish version. Students must pass the test before being promoted to the fourth grade, and will be given two more opportunities to do so.
The test is part of the Student Success Initiative put in place by the Texas Legislature in 1999. This year’s third graders will be fifth graders in the 2004-05 school year, and will be the first required to pass both the reading and mathematics portion of the exam to be promoted. The TAKS test this year is supposed to ease students into the new exam, which is designed to be more demanding than the retired Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS).
The TAKS measures the statewide curriculum in reading at grades 3–9; in writing at grades 4 and 7; in English language arts at grades 10 and 11; in mathematics at grades 3–11; in science at grades 5, 10 and 11; and social studies at grades 8, 10 and 11. The Spanish TAKS is administered as needed at grades 3 through 6. Satisfactory performance on the TAKS at grade 11 is required for a high school diploma. The older Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) will remain the graduation requirement for students who were enrolled in grade 9 or higher on Jan. 1, 2001.