Commentary on Testing Reform Needed

I am writing this blog post in response to the Musings of a Sassy Texas Skeptic's blog post entitled, "Testing Reform Needed." Her main point that she focused on is that the Texas' Legislature needs to make changes when it comes to standardize testing.
I completely agree with her argument, too much of our teachers' and students' time is taken up by preparing for this test. Instead of focusing on preparing these children for the future, they are instead trying to see if they can answer irrelevant questions that do not hold any value for real life. Students in Texas are obviously not getting the education needed because they score in the lowest quarter for SAT scores in the country.  This statistic shows that the standardize tests are not doing what they are supposed to do. A student may score well on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (Texas' standardized test), but then turn around and get a very low score on the SAT. Going forward the Legislature should do away with the TAKS test and allow the teachers more time to educate their students on relevant matters. These matters may included getting the students ready for the SAT and ACT which are very important in regards to college acceptance. Also preparing the students for real life, such as tax paying, loans and credit.
As you can see, I am completely on the same page as the Sassy Texas Skeptic when it comes to reform of standardize testing. There needs to be change, and fast.

Save Texas Schools

Texas does not do enough, to fund the public education system of our state.

Some might view that statement as a little harsh, but in my personal opinion it is the truth. According to savetexasschools.org Texas ranked 45th overall in terms off the funding they provide for public education, and this was before the Legislature cut an additional 5.4 billion dollars of funding. This lack of money given to the school systems in Texas puts our students far behind those of other states. Our state ranks 47th out of 50 when it comes to combined SAT scores. Our legislature needs to take action soon, to get public education back on the right track. With this lack of funding, the school districts are not equipped with what they need to provide every student with the education they deserve and need. Talking from personal experience, our school district was so overcrowded that in every class I took in high school, there were at least 30 students. This may not seem like a lot, but when there are students that need extra attention they cannot receive it, or they take away time of other students trying to learn.
New York ranks highest in terms of money spent per pupil in the public education system. With this statistic it is no surprise that NY also ranks among the top states in terms of SAT scores.
The students in the education system are the future of our state and our country. In order to have the best possible future, the Legislature needs to increase funding for schools.

Commentary on The Lone Star's post

I am writing this post, in response to The Lone Star's post entitled, "Bring an end to Deportations". I completely agree that there is a problem with deportation and immigration in America, specifically in Texas. USA Today wrote an article last summer about 250 Mexican immigrants (mostly children) crossing the border in Mission, TX. The amount of people rushing to the Texas is at times almost overwhelming; we as a state do not have the capacity to take care of these people, specifically children. When we tried to house these children in a facility until the government could find homes for them, the conditions were horrible and many children died. We have to then ask ourselves, are the conditions here really that much better than those in Mexico? Yes, they have an extremely low minimum wage and low housing quality. But, when a lot of these immigrants come to the United States they spend most of their time trying to escape from the government. With being an illegal immigrant, they cannot find proper work and therefore in the end might not make that much more money than they would in Mexico.

While I agree with The Lone Star, that their is a problem with deportation of people trying to come to America to make their lives better. I do not know if keeping everyone here is the best choice possible.  As a country we need to come together and discuss this problem, to find the best action possible for everyone.