Eighth graders at Harold Lang Middle School must retake the math portion of the TAKS test June 30. About 400 students have to retake the test because of "testing irregularities." The DISD evaluation and accountability office notice these irregularities and reported them to the Texas Education Agency, and suggested that the students retake the math portion during the second round of tests, which was in May. The agency thought that was premature, but after looking into it, decided that the students would need to retake the test.
DISD spokeswoman Libby Daniels said she couldn’t specify what the district means by "irregularities," because the Texas Education Agency is still investigating. But she said that it doesn’t appear to be any fault of the students. So, it’s not a case of students cheating.
Eighth graders have to pass the TAKS to get into high school. And the DISD media release contains this ominous sentence: "individual students who are not available to retake the test will be subject to a determination made by the campus-based grade placement committee regarding grade placement for the 2009-10 school year."
More after the jump.
The test is at 8:30 a.m., and the regular bus schedules are running that day. The school will provide breakfast and lunch. Administrators are in the process of notifying parents and guardians of all 400 students.
I fear that at least 400 things could go wrong with this scenario. People go on vacation in June, and I am sure that some of these students are staying with relatives in other places for the summer. Plus, a kid’s brain is likely to turn to mush about five seconds after the last bell rings. Now, they have to retake a standardized math test, of all things. That seems like a considerable disadvantage to me.
This is an awesome link with worksheets that can help get your child ready for the test.
