State Seeks Public Comment on New English, Spanish Language Arts and Reading Standards
The development of each student’s literacy skills is a shared responsibility. Let your voice be heard.
[dropcap color=”#888″ type=”square”]T[/dropcap]he State Board of Education (SBOE) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) have released the first drafts of the revised language arts and reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
The drafts cover the TEKS for English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR)/Spanish Language Arts and Reading (SLAR).
The SBOE is set to meet January 27-29 to review the drafts. Before the meeting, the State is seeking public input. State education entities encourage teachers and administrators to take part. Parents, students and community members can also voice their opinions. The deadline to provide input is January 25.
Your Input Is Important.
Your input will impact the State’s ELAR/SLAR standards. Once approved by the SBOE, these standards will drive the ELAR/SLAR curriculum. They will also affect future formative assessments.
You Can Affect Change If You Take Part.
The Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (TCTELA) is sponsoring an online forum. The Council and TEA have also provided an email link as another way to gather input.
Make Your Voice Heard.
You have two ways to give your input.
[ul class=”list list-search”] [li]Join the online community forum. Log in at [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]TCTELA.[/li] [li]Email your input. Visit [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]TEA’s page. [/li][/ul]Victoria Young and Diane Peterson will moderate the online forum. They will ask and answer questions in the TEKS Forum. Young is the former state director of ELAR assessments. Peterson is a researcher with the University of Houston-Downtown. Both are collecting comments and data from Texas teachers and administrators.
The purpose of their research study is to determine the opinions of Texas ELAR teachers regarding the drafts of the newly revised ELAR/SLAR Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
“The site gives English and Spanish language arts and reading communities a venue to weigh in on the proposed new curriculum standards,” said Young. “The TEKS are a critical component of what happens in Texas classrooms. We want to hear from all stakeholders. But it’s essential that ELAR and SLAR teachers review the standards and provide specific feedback about the strengths and weaknesses they see in the proposed TEKS. We hope that, through this forum, language arts and reading teachers across Texas will be able to make positive, significant contributions to the TEKS review process.“
Donna Bahorich
TCTELA will collect and provide your feedback to the SBOE and TEA.
SBOE and TEA Want to Hear From You
Donna Bahorich supports the effort to gather input from stakeholders. The SBOE chair is especially interested in hearing from Texas educators.
“We are excited to have a virtual opportunity,” said Bahorich. “We want to work with ELAR and SLAR educators across the state. This input is vital to helping us ensure our ELAR/SLAR classroom standards are the best in the country.”
Act Now Before It’s Too Late.
This is a call to action. Take the opportunity to provide constructive criticism of the proposed ELAR/SLAR TEKS. Now is the time to provide comments and make suggestions for any changes. Public commentary closes on January 25.
TCTELA will provide your feedback at the January SBOE meeting. The public feedback will serve as guidance during the Board’s standards review and revision.
“We hope that everyone’s comments and concerns will be a part of the testimony.” — Cindy Benge, Aldine ISD Program Director of High School Language Arts
Commitment To A High-Quality Education Is Based On Sound Content Standards.
Expert educator advisory teams will work throughout the spring and early summer. The revised standards set grade-specific goals. They exemplify what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a given grade or course.
The goal is to build on the rigor of the state’s previous ELAR/SLAR standards. Aside from public input, revisions incorporate current research. Other educational sources include TEA, scholars, and professional organizations. The standards ensure there is consistency across the state public education systems. The ELAR/SLAR standards are rigorous as well as based on research and evidence.
The official First Reading will likely take place at the April SBOE meeting. The Second Reading and Adoption will occur at the mid-July SBOE meeting.
The revised ELAR/SLAR standards will be implemented in the 2017-18 school year.
College And Career Readiness Anchors Standards.
The standards set the literacy expectations for students. Communications skills are essential for 21st century students to succeed in school and in their careers. They must be able to read and analyze critical works of literature. They must understand nonfiction texts such as science and other [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]STEM areas of study. 
Today’s students have to learn to prepare for a more digital world. They must use research and technology. The media at their disposal offers staggering amounts of information. They need to sift through the information to learn, share and form viewpoints.
The ELAR/SLAR standards help build creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. They improve students’ academic achievement while developing a strong foundation in language and reading.
Your input can help ensure we are doing what we can to prepare students for their future.
Standards address the demands of today to prepare students to succeed tomorrow.
Cultivating exceptional writing and reading skills for success in school and beyond.
Juan Jaramillo
Read about AISD graduates [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Juan Jaramillo and [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Samir Hassam.
Juan is a 2012 Nimitz HS graduate. He is majoring in chemical engineering at MIT. He will graduate with the Class of 2016.
As a student in Aldine ISD, Juan practiced ELAR skills while taking part in history fairs. This helped him develop research skills, analytical thinking, literacy skills and creative expression. That constant practice helped him hone the skills to be successful.
[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Samir is a 2015 Carver HS graduate. He is pursuing mechanical engineering at the University of Texas-Austin.
“Reading is important,” said Samir. “Not because parents make you read or teachers or Aldine ISD with summer reading requirements.
Samir Hassam
“If you never open up a book, you never know what is out there for you to explore. It doesn’t matter whether you read books or the Internet. There is information everywhere and resources you can take advantage of to get ahead in a competitive job market. So from that perspective, reading is important.
“For me, there is a connection between reading and engineering and technology. Outside of novels and stories, there is a lot of technical information that you can use. In learning principles of technology, there are concepts behind these that you have to learn. So if you don’t open a book or take the time to read the information and use it, then you won’t have the opportunity to understand the concept or principle.”
How are reading skills used in the workplace?
Employees must read and understand written information. Different types of workplace documents include work instructions, emails, memos, policies and reports. Professionals must scan for information and derive meaning. Employees must determine if the information is relevant or how they will use it. They must also be able to integrate information from many sources.
How important are writing skills in the workforce?
The [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]National Commission on Writing conducted a comprehensive study of 120 major American corporations. It concluded that writing is a “threshold skill” for hiring among professional employees. Writing skills also give individuals a leg up on a new job or promotion. Two-thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility. One HR manager stated that written material must be “crystal clear.”
Employers emphasize the significance of good writing skills for career preparedness. A recent [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Wall Street Journal article focused on “Must-Have Job Skills.” It identified clear communication, which includes writing, as the #1 skill necessary for success in the job market.
About the Author: Leticia Fehling
