September 2017 Committee of the Full Board Item 9
Update on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Review
September 13, 2017
COMMITTEE OF THE FULL BOARD: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION
SUMMARY: This item provides the opportunity for staff to present an update on the review of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.025.
TEC, §§7.102(c)(4), requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements.
TEC, §28.002, identifies the subjects of the required curriculum and requires the SBOE by rule to identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments.
TEC, §28.025, requires the SBOE by rule to determine the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school graduation program that are consistent with the required curriculum under the TEC, §28.002.
BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted the TEKS for all subjects to be effective September 1, 1998. The English language arts and reading TEKS were amended to be effective September 4, 2008. The Spanish language arts and reading TEKS were amended to be effective November 26, 2008. The TEKS high school English elective courses were amended to be effective August 23, 2010. In May 2017, the SBOE gave final approval to revisions to the English and Spanish language arts and reading TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 with a scheduled implementation date of the 2019-2020 school year. In June 2017, the SBOE gave final approval to revisions to the English language arts and reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) TEKS for high school with a scheduled implementation date of the 2020-2021 school year. The mathematics TEKS were amended to be effective August 1, 2006. The secondary mathematics TEKS were amended to be effective February 22, 2009. The mathematics TEKS were again amended to be effective September 12, 2012. The science TEKS were amended to be effective August 4, 2009. The SBOE gave final approval to streamlined science TEKS in April 2017 for implementation in the 2018-2019 school year. The social studies TEKS were amended to be effective August 23, 2010. The career and technical education (CTE) TEKS were amended to be effective August 23, 2010. The CTE TEKS were again amended to be effective August 28, 2017. The revised CTE TEKS are scheduled to be implemented beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. The fine arts TEKS were amended to be effective August 24, 2015. The TEKS for languages other than English (LOTE) were amended to be effective July 15, 2014 and December 31, 2014 and are scheduled to be implemented beginning with the 2017-2018 school year. The technology applications TEKS were amended to be effective September 26, 2011.
At the June 2017 SBOE meeting, the Committee of the Full Board held a work session to discuss the schedule for review and revision of the TEKS, the processes for review and streamlining of the TEKS, and the review and adoption cycle for instructional materials aligned to revised TEKS. At the meeting, the SBOE approved the proposed TEKS and instructional materials review and adoption schedule and the revised TEKS review process to be used beginning with the streamlining of the social studies TEKS.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: The board received training from a standards writing advisor at the July 2014 meeting. The standards writing advisor provided additional training to Texas Education Agency (TEA) staff in October 2014 to support future facilitation of the TEKS review committees. This guidance was fully implemented beginning with the review and revision of the English and Spanish language arts and reading TEKS.
In accordance with statutory requirements that the SBOE by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum, the SBOE follows a board-approved cycle to review and revise the essential knowledge and skills for each subject. The SBOE approved a proposal for the Kindergarten-Grade 8 TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading at its January/February 2017 SBOE meeting. However, the SBOE postponed action on first reading and filing authorization for the high school TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading and English as a second language until the April 2017 meeting.
At the April 2017 SBOE meeting, the committee recommended amendments to proposed revisions to the K-8 TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading for second reading and final adoption. At that time, the SBOE postponed second reading and final adoption of proposed revisions to the K-8 TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading to a special called meeting in May 2017. Also at the April 2017 SBOE meeting, the board approved proposed revisions to the high school TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading for first reading and filing authorization. At the May 2017 meeting, the SBOE gave final approval for proposed revisions to the K-8 TEKS for English and Spanish language arts and reading. The SBOE gave final approval to the high school TEKS at the June 2017 meeting.
At the September 2015 meeting, the SBOE requested that staff update the TEKS and Instructional Materials working document to add streamlining of the science and social studies TEKS to the cycle for the review and revision of the TEKS. The SBOE began the streamlining of the science TEKS in spring 2016. A discussion item regarding the proposed amendments to the science TEKS was presented to the Committee of the Full Board at the November 2016 SBOE meeting. In accordance with the board's TEKS streamlining process, one member of each TEKS review committee presented invited testimony at the meeting. At the January/February 2017 meeting, proposed amendments to the science TEKS were approved for first reading and filing authorization. The SBOE approved proposed amendments to the science TEKS for second reading and final adoption at the April 2017 meeting.
At the June 2017 work session, the Committee of the Full Board indicated their intention to complete a streamlining of the social studies TEKS, with the latitude to make minor revisions to the standards if the revisions would not impact currently adopted instructional materials. The SBOE is scheduled to begin the streamlining of the social studies TEKS in Fall 2017. Applications for appointment to TEKS streamlining work groups for social studies were posted on the TEA website in July 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT: There will be normal business costs associated with this process for the agency, including staff and committee travel, meeting accommodations, and production and dissemination of documents.
PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include better alignment and streamlining of the TEKS and coordination of the standards with the adoption of instructional materials.
PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None.
OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUES: None.
Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Support Services
Shelly Ramos, Senior Director
Curriculum Standards and Student Support
Attachment:
Statutory Citations (PDF, 35KB)