Last week saw the first volley of TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) testing for public high schoolers. Crucial to the success of the mission was a ruling from State Education Commissioner Robert Scott that yes, bathroom breaks are allowed during the testing.
The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is claiming credit on its website for raising the question with Comnmissioner Scott earlier this month. During a Q & A session, TCTA members said they weren’t sure what was allowed concerning trips to the bathroom during the state-mandated assessments, “making the already stressful tests even more unpleasant for teachers and students.”
In response, the Assessment Division of the Texas Education Agency issued a “To the Administrator Addressed” letter to school district leaders, addressing two of the specific concerns raised.
1.Teachers in some school districts had informed the commissioner that students were not being allowed to take bathroom breaks during testing, and the letter reminds districts that breaks are allowed under the state policy: “At your discretion, students may be allowed to take restroom breaks one at a time or an entire class.”
2. Teachers were also concerned that students finishing the
test were, in some cases, not allowed to read or leave the room. The
letter reviews the state guideline that provides: “After their test
materials have been collected, students may be allowed to quietly read
books or to leave the testing room. Students may NOT read books between
the written composition and revising and editing sections of the
writing/ELA tests.” The letter also notes that TEA has no stipulations
addressing classroom activities once all students have completed their
tests and the materials have been collected and stored.
At my
daughter’s high school, students were indeed allowed to go to the
bathroom, and in fact, asking to go were the only state-sanctioned
words she was permitted to speak from 8 in the morning until 2:30 in the
afternoon. Some poor teacher was assigned to stand guard by the girls
room, allowing only one in at a time. Once the teacher heard the
hands-washing water rushing, she allowed the next girl to go in.
As
for the books, students were allowed to read — many students finished
the test long before lunch so they had a long slog ahead of them — but
they weren’t allowed to do homework and even though they could catch up
on their required reading, they couldn’t take notes or annotate
anything. One student who brought in a sketch book, was told to exit
the class and stow it in her locker till the day’s testing was done.
It’s
nice to know that after all these years of TAKS (and its predecessors),
that the state finally got this whole bathroom break thing sorted out.
The high schoolers just finished their English test — with math,
science and social studies slated for the last week in April, first day
in May. At least they know now, they won’t have to wear diapers to the
big event.
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2009.
