TAKS test date change has little effect here
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

The state education department's decision to change the dates of state assessment tests in March will have little effect on local school districts.

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott announced Thursday he adjusted the state testing calendar to ensure no Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exams are given on the March 4 primary election day.

"By moving testing dates, we can preserve schools as polling places and maintain a calm, quiet, secure testing environment for our students," Scott said.

Carolyn Gordon, El Campo ISD assistant superintendent for curriculum, said the change won't "cause us any problem at all."

"And it wouldn't have if it stayed the same," she said. "There are no polling places at the schools."

Superintendent Andy Peters said the move will not impact the Louise Independent School District.

"The state did a good job with the rearrangement," Peters said. "We don't hold elections here, but many schools do.

"It gives us one more day for testing of grades 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The only negative impact is a social studies retest for seniors. It has been moved from a Friday to the previous Monday."

The commissioner decided to change the testing calendar because many schools are used as polling places, and for the first time, a testing date and election day coincided due to changes in three laws.

State legislators moved the March election day up by one week. Another law pushed the start date for schools back to late August and, because of that change, a third bill required testing to occur two weeks later than it did during the previous school year.

Under the new calendar, all tests scheduled for March 4-6 will be given one day later than originally scheduled. The exitlevel TAKS social studies exam, which was originally scheduled for Friday, March 7, will be moved to Monday, March 3.

While state tests are not normally administered on Monday, the exit-level social studies exam affects the fewest number of test takers, approximately 10,000 students statewide.

"We have not made this decision lightly," Scott said. "We had to balance the long-standing tradition of using schools as polling places with children's right to a quiet testing environment as they take high stakes exams."

About 2.6 million students in grades 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, and any senior who has not met testing requirements for graduation will take the TAKS in March.