March 23, 2015 9:35 AM

Business leader says ending school test requirement a step in the wrong direction

Hammond says high school diplomas have become no more than a certificate of attendance

One of the most vocal critics of last session’s major education legislation says superintendents are using lawmakers to dodge accountability.

The state of the Texas accountability system is precarious: The state has gone from an exit-level test that put a modest assessment bar in place to graduate high school to a handful of end-of-course tests pegged to the first two years of high school. Now, for the first time in three decades of the Texas accountability system, a local committee can decide whether any or all of those requirements could be waived according to Senate Bill 149, which passed the Senate on a 28-2 vote last Tuesday.

“The school finance lawsuit is premised on the fact we’re asking too much of our students,” said Bill Hammond of the Texas Association of Business. “It appears, after this session, the state of Texas will be asking nothing of them.”

Texas, however, would not be alone in such a decision. Mississippi’s state board of education, for instance, voted today to allow students who failed one or more subject-area tests to graduate if they can “demonstrate adequate mastery of course content when taking in to account the grade in the class and the test scores.”

By Kimberly Reeves