September 2016 Committee of the Full Board Wednesday Item 7
Update on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Review
September 14, 2016
COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for staff to present an update on the review of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025.
TEC, §§7.102(c)(4), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements. TEC, §28.002, identifies the subjects of the required curriculum and requires the SBOE by rule to identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments. TEC, §28.025, requires the SBOE by rule to determine the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school graduation program that are consistent with the required curriculum under the TEC, §28.002.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted the TEKS for all subjects to be effective September 1, 1998. The mathematics TEKS were amended to be effective August 1, 2006 and September 12, 2012. The secondary mathematics TEKS were also amended to be effective February 22, 2009. The English language arts and reading TEKS were amended to be effective September 4, 2008. The Spanish language arts and reading TEKS were amended to be effective November 26, 2008. The science TEKS were amended to be effective August 4, 2009. The career and technical education (CTE) TEKS were amended to be effective August 23, 2010. The social studies and high school English electives TEKS were amended to be effective August 23, 2010. The technology applications TEKS were amended to be effective September 26, 2011. In April 2012, the SBOE gave final approval to revisions to the mathematics TEKS. The mathematics TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 were implemented beginning with the 2014-2015 school year and the TEKS for high school mathematics were implemented beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. The fine arts TEKS were amended to be effective August 24, 2015. In April 2014 and September 2014, the board gave final approval to revised TEKS for languages other than English (LOTE), which are scheduled to be implemented beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. In April 2015 and July 2015, the board approved for second reading and final adoption proposed revisions to the CTE TEKS. At the September 2015 meeting, the board approved for second reading and final adoption proposed new CTE TEKS for an Advanced Marketing course and second-level practicum and automotive technology courses. The revised CTE TEKS are scheduled to be implemented beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
The board approved revisions to the process for review and revision of the TEKS in January 2011 and requested that staff use the revised process beginning with review and revision of the mathematics and fine arts TEKS. At the November 2011 SBOE meeting, the Committee of the Full Board held a work session to examine the instructional materials adoption cycle and the timeline for the review and revision of the TEKS. At the January 2012 meeting, the board adopted a revised instructional materials adoption cycle and updated the schedule for the review and revision of the TEKS to better align with the new instructional materials adoption cycle. The board took action at the July 2012 meeting to approve revisions to the process for the review and revision of the TEKS. On January 30, 2013, the board approved changes to its operating rules and asked staff to update the process for review and revision of the TEKS to align with changes to its operating rules. The revised process was used for the review and revision of the LOTE TEKS. In April 2014, the board again revised the process for review and revision of the TEKS to include more specific direction to TEKS review committees. The revised process was used for the review and revision of the CTE TEKS and is being used for the English and Spanish language arts and reading TEKS review.
A discussion item on the process for streamlining the TEKS was presented to the Committee on Instruction at the November 2015 SBOE meeting. At the January 2016 meeting, the board approved the process to be used in streamlining the science and social studies TEKS.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The board received training from a standards writing advisor at the July 2014 meeting. The standards writing advisor provided additional training to Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff in October 2014 to support future facilitation of the TEKS review committees. This guidance was fully implemented beginning with the review and revision of the English and Spanish language arts and reading TEKS.
In accordance with statutory requirements that the SBOE by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum, the SBOE follows a board-approved cycle to review and revise the essential knowledge and skills for each subject. The current subjects under review and revision are English and Spanish language arts and reading. Proposed revisions to Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, and Chapter 128, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Spanish Language Arts and Reading and English as a Second Language, are presented for discussion as a separate item in this agenda.
At the September 2015 meeting, the SBOE requested that staff update the TEKS and Instructional Materials working document to add streamlining of the science and social studies TEKS to the cycle for the review and revision of the TEKS. The SBOE began the streamlining of the science TEKS in spring 2016. Applications for appointment to TEKS streamlining committees for science were accepted by TEA from February 4, 2016 through March 14, 2016. The applications received were provided to SBOE members at the April 2016 meeting, and nominations for TEKS streamlining committees for science were made in summer 2016. Committee members were notified of the appointment in summer 2016 and were asked to participate in an introductory webinar. In July 2016, TEA distributed a survey to collect information from educators regarding student expectations that are essential at each grade level, student expectations that may not be essential at each grade level, and other information relevant to the streamlining of the science TEKS. Also in July, the science TEKS streamlining committees convened in Austin for the first face-to-face meeting to begin work on draft recommendations. The committees are expected to convene for a second meeting in September 2016 to review the results of the streamlining survey and to finalize their draft recommendations for streamlining the science TEKS.
FISCAL IMPACT: There will be normal business costs associated with this process for the agency, including staff and committee travel, meeting accommodations, and production and dissemination of documents.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include better alignment and streamlining of the TEKS and coordination of the standards with the adoption of instructional materials.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: Proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 110, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English Language Arts and Reading, and 19 TAC Chapter 128, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Spanish Language Arts and Reading and English as a Second Language, is presented for discussion as a separate item in this agenda.
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director
Curriculum Standards and Student Support
Attachment:
Statutory Citations (PDF, 30KB)