Southeast Texas P-16 Council

AUSTIN – Because of the changing nature of computer science and the digital environment, the State Board of Education today approved  a substantial revision and expansion of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Technology Applications for kindergarten through eighth grade, as well as to 13 high school courses.

The new curriculum standards will be implemented in 2012 -2013. These replace standards in use in Texas classrooms since 1998.

Because of the evolving and expanding nature of technology, the board is considering ultimately expanding the number of high school level technology application classes from the current eight to a total of 19.

Some of the new courses for which curriculum standards were approved are Robotics Programming and Development, Game Programming and Design, Mobile Application Development, and Digital Design and Media Production.

The board delayed adopting standards for six high school courses until July so the board members could continue to review and consider input they received during the public comment period:  Fundamentals of Computer Science; Computer Science I, II, II; Discrete Mathematics; and Web Game Development.

All the Technology Application TEKS are organized around six strands: creativity and innovation; communications and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts. More information about the curriculum standards update is available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=8192 .

Texas’ TEKS recieves a high A- for English Language Arts but just a C  in mathematics in a new national study.

The study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute “The State of State Standards — and the Common Core in 2010,” compares the various states standards with the nationally proposed Common Core.

The reports review of the Texas TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards can be found at : 

http://edexcellence.net/201007_state_education_standards_common_standards/Texas.pdf

Among the finds, the report says the  “Texas’s ELA standards are clearly written, well presented, and logically organized. Most are clear and specific and leave little room for interpretation.”

On the downside, the report notes “While the Reading standards are clear and rigorous, the state fails to define the quality and complexity of texts that students
should be reading each year. Similarly, while the high school standards include occasional and perfunctory nods to the importance of reading important works of American literature (shown below), the state makes no reference to American literature in grades K-8.”

The report concludes that “Texas’s ELA standards are more clearly written, better presented, and logically organized than the Common Core standards.”

Math TEKS

On the Texas math standards the report says “The standards are well presented and easy to read, and some are clear as stated…However, many standards are far too broadly stated…These standards give little indication of what types of problems students are expected to be able to solve…”

The report concludes its Texas math roundup, “With their grade of C, Texas’s mathematics standards are mediocre, while those developed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative earn an impressive A-minus. The CCSS math standards are significantly superior to what the Lone Star State has in place today.”

Texas officials point out that changes to the Math TEKS are still in the works.

Overall Findings

The web site for the report notes “The K-12 academic standards in English language arts (ELA) and math produced last month by the Common Core State Standards Initiative are clearer and more rigorous than today’s ELA standards in 37 states and today’s math standards in 39 states, according to the Fordham Institute’s newest study. In 33 of those states, the Common Core bests both ELA and math standards. Yet California, Indiana and the District of Columbia have ELA standards that are clearly superior to those of the Common Core. And nearly a dozen states have ELA or math standards in the same league as Common Core.”