TAKS gains

THE STORY: ECISD fifth- and eighth-graders made at least 2 percentage point gains on the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test earlier this month.

THE POLL: Do you think TAKS testing is an accurate measure of student success?

>> Yes: 1 percent (10 votes).
>> No: 9 percent (90 votes).

YOUR COMMENTS:
>> "My 5th grader barely passed the reading TAKS. He had commended performance in 3rd grade, after attending months of after school tutoring. He scored average in 4th grade after some tutoring. He barely passed in the 5th grade after no tutoring. The school said there was no funding available for tutoring kids that weren't high risk. The school had to have it's own fundraisers to raise the money to pay for the little tutoring they did have. Why is ECISD not adequately funding a tutoring program, when they talk about how important the TAKS scores are?"
>> "Tutoring for the TAKS test in elementary? Oh please! My kids school only offers tutoring for the kids who are at-risk or who fail the test. When my kids aren't in special areas (PE, music, etc), their whole day is spent working towards the TAKS test. They rarely do anything but the TAKS test. Of course, the teachers claim they are working on the core subject but everything is gear towards the almighty TAKS test. By the time they leave elementary, they will be the best standardized test takers around. Look out SAT!"