Question about schools and TAKS Testing (Dallas: credit, how much, magnet schools)

[tulip66]

Can someone give me names of some good schools in the Dallas area
that dont require Taks Testing. Do private or charter schools take TAKS??

Im trying to find a new school for my child who struggles with testing.
I dont feel its fair to retain her another year just because she cant pass
TAKS?

Does anyone have any info about this?

thanks.

[Grainraiser]

I know all the public schools are required to take the TAKS test but I am not sure about the private schools. I am sure someone will chime in with a answer.

[5stones]

Private schools are not required to take the TAKS since they don't get state money etc...

I feel for you, I really do. I have 1 kid who is a horrible standardized test taker. But she is a striaght A (all AP classes) kind of kid. She get horrible anxieity of thest etc...

She did do very good on the TX TAKS though, compared to VA SOL's. BUT I was fully prepared for the fight to have her move on to HS if she didn't pass. (Her Alegrbra teacher was on baord with this as well)

I think more kids would do better if they just didn't make such an issue about it. I personally can't stand the whole process.

[scyogi]

TAKS is the WORST thing about TX schools. Standardized testing is in every state but TX really tops the charts with how much meaning they put into these test.

[CMDallas]

If you're a bright kid, there is no possible way to fail the TAKS unless you try.
It is an easy test, covering Basic concepts. Which is why you daughter did well.
TAKS is a texas thing, all Public schools have to take them. Not all private schools do, but a good chunk of them give something similar.

[FarNorthDallas]

None of the private schools here take TAKS. Catholic, Christian, independent, Montessori, none of them take it.

Charter schools have to take them. Magnet schools have to take them. All public schools have to take TAKS.

My son would not pass TAKS if he was in public school.

[tulip66]

Thanks for the information. I was not aware Charter Schools take the Taks.

Even though we just moved here recently Im already not liking this
school system here in Texas. How can your whole school year be make
or break over 1 single test. Ridiculous!! I have heard of Graduation
tests that you must pass in 12th, but certainly not in 3, 5 or 8th grade.

Has anyone had a 3rd or 5th grader actually repeat the grade?

[Grainraiser]

My sons weakest subject is math but he aced the math portion of the TAKS test. He was so afraid of failure that he studied like crazy for it. I told him as long as he made good grades in school he would do fine on the test. You would have thought the 5th grader was taking the BAR exam. It's way more pressure than a kid should have to endure.

[Big G]

Kids can and do repeat grades due to failing TAKS scores. Truth be told, it's the exception, not the norm. Here's a link to a DMN article about promoting kids who have failed the TAKS.

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | News: Education (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/112906dnmettaks5.35ecf1e.html - broken link)

At my son's school, they occasionally hold back 3rd graders, but I've never seen them hold back a 5th grader. Pretty much any parent who can rattle the cage can get their kid promoted, TAKS test or not.

Last year, my son's school's 3rd grade had a boy move into town and completely fizzle on the TAKS. His (IMO negligent/clueless) parents didn't realize what that meant. They first discovered he was being held back when they showed up this past fall for 4th grade and found their son's name on the 3rd grade roster. A couple of meetings with the principal, and the kid magically got promoted to 4th grade by the end of the 1st week of school.

[loves2read]

so OP--you moved to TX recently and your child was exposed to TAKS after you moved and now that you got the test scores back and your child did not do well, you are willing to totally discount the positive comments you made about the ISD --- how many TAKS tests were taken/passed/failed--only one or more than one--if the other factors of classwork are avg or above then you need to discuss with your child's teacher what that score means--

depending on where you moved from, it is certainly possible that your child came with skills that are below what the state of TX deems average--saw it often when I taught and we had students come from public (or private) schools in certain states---New Mexico, California, were the ones I came in contact with more than states like New York...
Adjusting to TAKS is difficult for kids who come in mid-stream so to speak---
you need to have a discussion with your child's teacher and a counselor to discuss WHY the test scores were low--
evading that question by moving to another school that does not give TAKS is not really a smart move to me--I would want to know WHY my child had problems...
I agree that for students who have the "average" skills/knowledge of a grade level TAKS is not a real threat---and I know that most people attibute low scores on test anxiety but most students do fine---
after TAKS became a part of standardized testing (surplating the TAAS test) I had FEW students that did well in class (think C+ or better --10th and 11th grade English) who failed TAKS--
I had plenty of students who failed over the years but they did so because they refused to take the test seriously (a big problem with 10 graders since there is no real penalty for failing) and/or they were poor students to start with...
I know that elementary schools are very test-driven because that is a major feature of how the schools are judged successful---now that bonus pay is being linked to successful test scores and improved scores you can only expect more of the same

the article about social promotion is several years old--when the lower grades policy of non-promotion was instituted (it was not always in force)--notice that the size of the district has lot to do with whether or not it happens--and it happens---I have friend who is retired elementary teacher and she knew of few 5th graders that were retainted SOLELY because of failing one TAKS portion---if more than one was failed then other factors probably came into play as well---

and this is not just about teacher pay---the federal monies that many schools require to survive because TX does not pay enough on the state's end and the ISD can't raise taxes any more are directly tied to standardized test scores---schools cannot ignore them or they risk having some low-performing schools declared at risk and taken over -- out of the hands of the local ISD/parents--and controlled by a 3rd party intervention firm...
that is not a good situation of any one concerned

just be glad when the new system of exit level testing happens--at least them students will see a direct correration between the standardized tests and their course grade/credit---and I hope we don't see students allowed to march at graduation and continue the illusion of success without facing the reality of lack of performance...

frankly I think that TAKS testing has postive and negative aspects to it--but have a friend who went through Catholic schools in NYC--and they took the state's regent exams--and they were as or more difficult than TAKS--of course they do not occur at the elementary level--only in secondary ---
if you don't like TAKS blame George Bush and the No Child Left Behind act--if you voted for Bush, you supported TAKS