Texas Association of Business Takes Dim View of Reducing Education Accountability

A Texas business organization discusses education and funding.

A press release from the Texas Association of Business and the Texas Coalition for a Competitive Workforce talks about their disagreement with the demands of some education leaders in the state.

“What we see here are school districts wanting more money without having a way to measure whether that investment is working or not,” said Bill Hammond, TAB President and CEO.

Hammond continued, saying “We must ensure the state has an effective way to measure whether increased investment in education is working, and you can’t do that without a strong accountability system.”

The group says that some school districts and school boards are demanding changes that could water down the state’s accountability system, as well as more funding.

The release continued, saying that the accountability system has played a crucial role over the past 20 years in effecting impressive advances in student achievement. They point out that, based on data from state and national exams, African American and Hispanic students have improved by as much as 2 to 3 grade levels in reading and mathematics during that time, overall student achievement has improved, and the dropout rate has steadily decreased.

“Anyone asking that the new accountability system be weakened should take those numbers into consideration,” said Hammond. “Even with the new STAAR test we have seen the gap between white and minority students continue to disappear. We would never know that was happening unless we had an accountability system to measure it.”