Vanessa Trejo

Professor Bevill

ENGL 1302-IN1

21 April, 2017

Proposal argument partial draft

TEKS, Texas essential knowledge and skills. TEKS is a very important thing here in

Texas, considering that TEKS is the guide that teachers base their curriculum in. By the end of

the school year student have had to master the requirements that TEKS sets in order to move on

to the next grade level. TEKS undergoes changes every now and then when the SBOE (state

board of education) sees the need for a change. The latest change to TEKS was done in 2012

when Commissioner Robert Scott brought together top math educators and experts from Texas

to form a Mathematics Advisory Group (Cargill 1). These math experts decided that the

mathematical TEKS needed to be adjusted to meet the changes happening in the world, arguing

that many careers now require more and different mathematics (Cargill 2). This change in the

mathematical TEKS resulted in teachers struggling to deliver these new lessons and meeting all

the new TEKS standards. The State Board of Education recognizes that these changes are going

to be very difficult for both teachers and students considering that the last change prior to the

2012 change was done in the school year of 1998-99. Teachers went from teaching the same

material for twelve years to a three sixty spin on material. Another problem that the shift down of

TEKS first faced was the dramatic drop of STAAR math test scores. In the summer of 2012

twenty five thousand three hundred seventy four students were tested on the algebra 1 material.

The results of this test were thirty three percent passing, one percent passing with a commended

score; which is above average, sixty seven percent failing, and fifteen percent failing with a
minimum score. After the modification made to the mathematical TEKS in 2012 the scores

dropped dramatically in the summer of 2014. A total of one thousand seven hundred and fifty

nine students were tested on the algebra 1 material. The results were the following, seventeen

percent passed, zero percent passed above average and eighty three percent failed. Seeing these

results makes people wonder maybe the new modification made to TEKS arent very efficient.

Well yes it is true, the drop rate of scores is huge. However keep in mind this was the first year

the new mathematical shift down was being tested. The Texas Education Agency should improve

their approach towards the math TEKS change because this would benefit the students to do

better and to prepare them for the future.

Providing teachers with more math adjustment training will be a great way to better

prepare teachers for the drastic change of the change in math TEKS. As math supervisor, Devin

Hanes says we are asking first year teachers and veterans to be first year teachers again (Dallas

News 1). The idea that TEKS was going to be undergoing some changes was introduced to the

school districts well in advanced. This allowed trainings on the new TEKS available starting

in the summer of 2013. (Cargill 2). Understanding that children will need extra help with this

change is just as important as recognizing that teachers will need extra help as well. Furthermore

the adjustment will require several trainings, and they need to be mandatory trainings. The

change in math TEKS was made so that our students would be better prepared for the future not

to set them up for failure. If the teachers dont completely comprehend what they are supposed to

be delivering to the class then it is inevitable that this will lead to failure. The saying practice

makes perfect can be applied to this situation, it is understandable for teachers to be scared of

something new. Ashley Nick, a 5th grade teacher in Richardson ISD started a training session in

the summer of 2013 she says I felt there was some apprehension in the room, but as the
trainings went on the anxiety dropped a bit (Dallas News 2). Spreading this tactic all over the

state of Texas will result in positive outcomes from the shift down of TEKS.

As children enter the adolescent stage they begin to question everything, especially

school. Middle school teachers often hear the question How is this important? or When will I

used this in real life? These types of questions increase when children feel challenged in their

academic classes. When students feel like what they are learning in the classroom will never help

them out in the real world after high school things like dropout rates increase. Students drop out

for several reason but one of those reasons is because coursework is not challenging enough to

maintain students interested (Hawkins and Richardson 1), hopefully this will not be an issue

with the new mathematical TEKS. Another reason why students drop out is because teachers do

not link rigorous course material to things that matter in students everyday life (Hawkins and

Richardson 2). This is a huge concern now that the material has gotten challenging in every

grade level, students are likely to feel like they dont have to try to learn this new challenging

material because it does not benefit them in their everyday lives. A new study shows that

students who sit through a lesson full of just text book reading and lectures are 1.5 times more

likely to fail (Bajak 1). Including active learning methods during a lesson is a great benefit for

students because not only are they constantly engaged and participating but they are also learning

more this way. When working with groups and making projects children are using more than one

sense; they are using their touch, vision, and hearing. The more parts of the brain you use, the

more likely you are to retain information (Cleaver 1). As Ben Mardell, PhD says kids learn

through all of their senses. It is true that always working with busy hands can be challenging

and a little extra work for the teacher it is worth the effort. A hands on classroom will definitely

help smoothen out the transition of the new mathematical TEKS.

 All children have different ways of learning. Some students work better with groups,

others hate working alone, and others just need that extra one on one help. However when you

have a full class of students sometimes it is hard to provide one on one help to that students that

is struggling. This concept can get a little harder when you are a middle school teacher, several

middle schools have drifted away from the idea of pulling small groups of students out of

classrooms to have a mini tutorial session. With the new shift down of TEKS frustration and

struggles are to be expected. Thus I propose that schools should go back to the small group

tutorial sessions. These small groups can have several benefits, one of the many benefits is

flexible learning. When working with a small group it is easier to monitor the rest of the

students (Genie tutors 1) and work with an individual on the side. Deciding what students are

going to be pulled out of an elective classroom for small group tutorial can be decided based on a

specific math area those students are struggling in, this will also facilitate the tutorial session

because the teacher will know what specific area most of the students in that group are struggling

with. Another great benefit to working in small groups is building team working skills (Genie

tutors 2). In a large classroom students might feel embarrassed or are just scared to ask a

question in front of the rest of their classmates because they are afraid to ask a dumb question.

In a small group setting students working on the same problem places a child in a situation

where they have to be socially active (Genie tutors 3). Small groups will kill two birds with one

stone while students get extra academic help there are unconsciously working on their social

skills. In order for small groups to work the school must hire a few extra people such as tutors or

co teachers to pull these children out of their elective classes and into the small groups. The

amount of tutors hired by the school will strictly depend on where the school is located and the

amount of financial support the school district provides for that school.
 All in all several different approaches can be made to try to facilitate the drastic shift

down of the mathematical TEKS. With every change there are struggles, and with this particular

change it will just have to be a trial and error type of situation. What works in one school district

may not always work for the other. However it is important to constantly be making an effort to

facilitate these changes for the students and for the teachers. Even if these adjustment require a

little more effort, time and money investment the results of having college ready students will

certainly be satisfying. Children are the future, therefor there must be a constant effort to help

build well-educated individuals for tomorrows future.

Work Cited
Bajak, Aleszu. "Lectures Aren't Just Boring, They're Ineffective, Too, Study Finds." Science |

AAAS. N.p., 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Cargill, Barbara. "State Board of Education." State Board of Education, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Cleaver, Samantha. "Hands-On Is Minds-On." Hands-On Is Minds-On | Scholastic.com.

Scholastic Inc., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Hawkins, Alyssa, and Scott Richardson. "Weaving STEM, Exploration, and Community

Service." AMLE - Association for Middle Level Education. Association for Middle Level

Education, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

STAAR State Wide Summary Reports 2011-2012. STAAR Statewide Summary Reports 2011-

2012. Texas Education Agency, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.

"STAAR Statewide Summary Reports 2013-2014." STAAR Statewide Summary Reports 2013-

2014. Texas Education Agency, n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2017.

Weiss, Jeffery. "New State Math Standards Mean Many Kids Started the Year behind

Education." Dallas News. The Dallas Morning News, 06 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

"5 Benefits of Learning in Small Groups." Genie Tutors. Genie Tutors, 15 Jan. 2016. Web. 20

Apr. 2017.