The TAAS, or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, was the third standardized test used in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
between 1991 and 2002, when it was replaced by the
TAKS
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) was the fourth Texas state standardized test previously used in primary education, grade 3-8 and secondary education, grade 9-11 to assess students' attainment of reading (activity), reading, wr ...
test from 2003 to 2013. It was used from
grades
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also r ...
3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. Passing the Grade 11 level was required for graduation, but many opportunities for retesting were available. The implementation of the TAAS was the first time a state-mandated exam was required to be passed for graduation. There were many alternative routes available for students unable to pass the TAAS.
The TAAS tested 3 areas of proficiency: reading, writing, and math. The math and reading sections consisted of multiple-choice, while the writing section consisted of a series of prompts for which
essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
s had to be written.
In 2002, researchers Jere Confrey and David Carrejo presented a paper that criticized the TAAS. They found that the ''"data provided to teachers for instructional decision-making"'' did not always reconcile with ''"published test structure"''.
See also
*
Texas Assessment of Basic Skills The Texas Assessment of Basic Skills or TABS test was a standardized test for public schools in the State of Texas beginning in 1980. It was introduced by statute by the 66th Legislature in 1979. The statute required testing of "basic skills compet ...
- the first standardized test used by Texas from 1980 until 1983.
*
Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills The Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills or TEAMS was the second standardized test used in Texas, from 1984 until 1990. It was used for grades 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. Students passing the test are no longer needed to take the exam. Passing ...
- the second standardized test used by Texas from 1984 until 1990.
*
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) was the fourth Texas state standardized test previously used in grade 3-8 and grade 9-11 to assess students' attainment of reading, writing, math, science, and social studies skills required ...
- the fourth standardized test used by Texas from 2003 until 2011.
*
State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, commonly referred to as its acronym STAAR ( ), is a series of standardized tests used in Texas public primary and secondary schools to assess a student's achievements and knowledge learned ...
- the fifth and current standardized test used by Texas since 2011.
References
Further reading
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External links
{{Portal, Texas, Education
Education in Texas
Standardized tests in the United States