Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said students whose parents elect to keep them in remote learning on the STAAR testing dates will not take the test. He reiterated his reason for wanting every child to take the test: it is an assessment of where students stand compared to the curriculum they are expected to master by this point in their education. It will expose the learning gap created by COVID disruption of the school year.
Speaking on a Livestream sponsored by the Texas Tribune, Commissioner Morath referenced a four-year study of children who were displaced by hurricane Katrina. It took four years to bring them back to grade level in reading and they never did come up to grade level in math. He also referenced the aftermath of a three-month teacher strike in Venezuela. It is estimated it caused a 20-year reduction in GDP. He reminded us that life’s expectations have not changed because of the pandemic. We need to assess where we are so we can plan to recover.
He suggested three strategies that will be necessary if we are to avoid such catastrophic results in Texas. First, we need academic rigor. We need to teach at grade level and overlay remediation. We cannot teach to where the students are now. Second, we must make the role of teacher more manageable. We have teachers working 14-hour days and that is just not sustainable. We need to love on our teachers. It is the hardest job anyone could have. It will take great teachers to pull us out of this. Third, we need more days in the classroom.
Commissioner Morath said when he called for returning kids to in class learning early in April, it was controversial. Now that decision is strongly supported by data. Dr. Anthony Fauchi has said that children are safer in the classroom than in the community. Morath did allow that for a small group of students, online learning was better for them; for some students it is about the same. A large group of students do not perform as well in an online environment and we must get them back into classrooms.
Asked about burnout in his job, Commissioner Morath said the entire reason for his existence was to help the community. “I will do this as long as they will let me.”