Education
BY HANNAH NORTON
Student outcomes under TEA pilot program Lubbock ISD began piloting the TEA’s elementary-level materials at four schools during the 2021-22 school year. All 28 elementary schools were using the materials by the 2023-24 school year. The percentage of LISD elementary students who met grade level standards on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, increased from 2019-2024 across all grade levels and saw improvements across all demographics. Texas aims to support students, teachers with new textbooks The Texas State Board of Education is set to approve a new collection of language arts and math textbooks this fall that state leaders hope will help close student achievement gaps and reduce time teachers spend creating lesson plans.
Among the proposed materials are textbooks developed by the Texas Education Agency since 2020. The state-developed textbooks would be available for free online and include kindergarten through fifth grade reading and language arts; kindergarten through eighth grade math; and Algebra 1. If the SBOE approves the textbooks in Novem- ber, public school districts could begin implement- ing them—which is entirely optional—during the 2025-26 school year. The overview Texas lawmakers passed House Bill 1605 last year amid concerns about student performance and whether teachers are using instructional materials that meet state educational standards. For the first time, the law directs the state to create a list of high-quality textbooks and sets aside $324 million for districts to purchase the new materials. The state textbooks will ensure students are learning at their grade level and build on import- ant concepts each year, said Shannon Trejo, the TEA’s deputy commissioner of school programs. The TEA has piloted its textbooks in school districts around the state, such as Lubbock ISD, since 2021. Some districts recorded “tremendous” student growth with the materials, Trejo said. Put in perspective Some Texans have objected to frequent ref- erences to the Bible in the elementary school
2019 2024
30% 20% 10% 0% 40% 50% 60%
NOTE: STUDENTS DO NOT BEGIN TAKING THE STAAR UNTIL THIRD GRADE.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
community is that there is so much Christian con- tent that is presented as fact,” said Bee Moorhead, the executive director of Texas Impact, an inter- faith policy organization. “The point of faith is that it’s not the same thing as knowledge.” Lawmakers discussed the state-developed materials during an Aug. 12 Texas House hearing. Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, said public schools “should never be ashamed” of teaching students about Christianity. “The world’s major religions did not have an equal impact on the founding belief systems of our country,” Schaefer said. “They did not have an equal impact on the American and Texas legal system or Western civilization and our culture.”
curriculum and raised concerns that the materials do not depict other religions equally. For example, a proposed fifth grade reading passage about the Renaissance describes Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting, “The Last Supper,” and includes excerpts of the Book of Matthew, which focuses on the crucifixion of Jesus. Other religions are also included in the text- books. A proposed fourth grade poetry lesson, which is available on the SBOE website, includes a poem by Kshemendra, a 12th-century poet who “studied Buddhism and Hinduism, and ... wrote epic poems based on various stories and gods from those religions.” “A big part of the concern for the faith
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NORTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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