House Bill 5 reduces the maximum number of testi hours from 90 to 21.
House Bill 5 Introduces Curriculum Changes
By Linden Wilson, Assistant Editor
Every new school year brings change forbrstudents and parents, but this year, school curriculum itself will change. Itbrstems from the June 10 passing of Texas House Bill 5 that alters curriculumbrstandards for public schools and significantly reduces the amount of testingbrstudents must complete in order to graduate high school. Students will bebrrequired by the state to take just five end-of-course (EOC) standardized testsbrin English I, English II, algebra I, biology and U.S. history, down from 15. Thebrbill further mandates that a student's performance on an EOC assessment will nobrlonger account for 15 percent of his or her final course grade. The bill'sbrauthor, Representative Jimmie Don Aycock (R-Killeen), proposed the number of EOCbrexams be reduced from 15 to five and that the maximum number of test hours bebrreduced from 90 to 21.
“Thebrreduction in state assessments will provide districts a greater opportunity forbrimproving student learning environments,” says Dr. JJ Villarreal, Carroll ISD'sbrassistant superintendent for student services. “CISD supports a teachingbrenvironment that facilitates collaborative learning and problem solving usingbrmultiple options for assessing students.”
House Billbr5, a 19-page document, eliminates the current Minimum, Recommended and AdvancedbrHigh School graduation programs and replaces them with the Foundation HighbrSchool program, which provides endorsements on a student's diploma andbrtranscript if he or she completes certain courses. Endorsements includebrscience, technology, engineering and mathematics; business and industry; publicbrservices; arts and humanities; and multidisciplinary studies. The bill indicatesbrstudents will now take four English credits and three science, social studiesbrand math credits instead of the previously required four of each. Students arebralso required to take two foreign language credits; one fine art credit; onebrphysical education credit; and five elective credits. This update to thebrcurriculum is intended to give students more flexibility when it comes tobrdeciding what educational paths they want to pursue.
“We havebrreached the point at which testing is interfering with learning,” says SenatorbrJane Nelson (R-Flower Mound). “This bill will allow students to focus on thebrcurriculum, not just the test, while maintaining high standards. I believe ourbrstudents will rise to our level of expectations.” The support of Nelson, a formerbrteacher who served two terms on the State Board of Education before joining thebrTexas Senate, comes as no surprise, but Governor Rick Perry was expected bybrsome to veto the bill before he actually decided to sign it.
“Youbrnever know,” Aycock told the Austin-AmericanbrStatesman in the days leading up to June 10. “It only becomes law when thebrink is dry.” Now that the ink is officially dry, high school seniors will alsobrsee changes to state financial-aid requirements and the program offering automaticbradmission into a state university if they rank amongst the top 10 percentbracademically in their school. In order to qualify for both financial aid asbrwell as for the top 10 percent program, students must take four sciencebrcredits, and algebra II must be among their fourth math credits. Additionally,brstudents with disabilities will be allowed to substitute a P.E. course credit forbran academic course credit.
Fiscally,brHouse Bill 5 is projected to have a positive impact of saving more than $11brmillion through the next two academic years. School districts, although theybrmight incur additional costs related to implementing the bill's provisions,brcould also experience savings from the reduced number of EOC assessmentsbramounting to roughly $8.7 million annually.