2004 Customer Satisfaction Survey (PDF, 566 KB) - TEA - Home ...

as the SAT/ACT and additional AP tests. We seem to be missing the boat on this issue.
I am really tired of going to required in-service, etc. That is a waste of my time. Most of these inservices
have nothing to do with my field and leave me frustrated because I could have used the time
to work in my classroom or to teach. I am also sick of all the paperwork and testing that is forced
upon us, when do we get to teach things that are not associated with testing?
I am very concerned about the timing of the TAKS in the spring of 2005. Is there anything we can do
about it? Will anyone listen?
Student retention guidelines with respect to mastery of materials vs. age-appropriate placement.
Teachers always teaching just for the TEKS testing. More and more time is spent making teachers
teach this and a lot of other personal teaching skills are not taught by example to the students. You
can educate a child all day long, 365 days a year the same material and if he/she or their parents
don’t make the effort to learn the material, they won’t.
Students hear too much TAKS and do not receive enough TEKS because teachers and administrators
fear losing recognized or exemplary status. The students don’t receive the full range of instruction the
TEKS recommends and so they lose.
Why do you put so much pressure on teachers when we deal with students who have so much
baggage coming into the classroom? The idea of not being able to provide healthy snacks to my kids
when they come into my room hungry is absurd. Kids cannot learn when their stomachs are hurting
them. We need to make sure our students basic needs are being met before they can do the work.
Also, I am fed up with the TAKS tests trying to trick the students. If these tests were fair and truly
tested basic skills, I wouldn’t have a problem. When you have a test where two answers could be
correct, then that is not fair. I feel for the students being under so much pressure to pass an unfair
test. You need to have teachers who are still teaching to come and make the tests out because they
know what the kids are capable of doing and would do a better job of assessing skills and not try to
trick them. I am sick of teaching because the joy has been taken out of the classroom due to the
pressure you guys put on us. The idea of just anyone being a teacher because they have a degree is
also absurd. In the elementary setting, you could not put a business person who is very structured
and not willing to be flexible. It would drive them crazy especially when there are no consequences if
a child does wrong. I wish people in TEA would only be educators who have not been out of the
classroom situation for a million years. I believe that teachers need people who can empathize with
the teaching situation. It has changed a great deal from the 1960s. Listen to the teachers and back
off.
The burden placed on student, schools, and staff with the current state mandated testing program.
Too many special education students in the regular classroom without an aide or support staff. My
partner and myself had 18 identified special needs children in our 2 classes of 41 students.
Administrators should be encouraged to distribute children equally among teachers so that the needs
of these children can be meet, as well as the regular education children. In my 28 years of teaching,
more and more children are being labeled and more IEPs are being written for them, and the teacher
with all these children is having a difficult time doing her job well. The regular education child is left
behind in a lot of these cases because of the advocates for special education parents seem to be
getting everything they want. Someone needs to advocate for the regular education children who will
be the leaders of this nation. They are the ones being short-changed.
Low promotion retention standards. How can a child be promoted to the next grade level when
Standardized Test scores for that child are allowed to be 1 full year behind? Also, why is it that a
child has to be retained in the first grade before they can be referred for Special Education services?
Shouldn’t we be helping children when we see their needs aren’t being met?
The required learning objectives for some courses is too hard or too broad for most of the students that
age (in particular, Algebra 1).
Students are not being held to a level of excellence that complements their education. I will be anxious
to see what the TAKS does.
Too much money is spent on standardized tests (TAKS, Stanford Aprenda, etc.). We receive a new kit
for TPRI and Tejas Lee every year and the manual is full of mistakes (Tejas Lee). A lot of cash that
could have been spent on other programs.
Mastery of TEKS objects K-2 so that the student can be successful on the TAKS test in grades 3-5.
(Teachers K-2 need to know the importance of this.)
TAKS, UIL, not learning conducive for real world. George Bush.
Survey Research Center, University Of North Texas
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