English Standards and the Texas State Board of Education

By now, you have no doubt heard of the kerfluffle among the members of the State Board of Education. Several accounts have made it sound like a personality clash, but it's a bit more serious than that. The disagreement centered on a document about new standards for teaching English in public schools in the state of Texas.

The document was cobbled together at the last minute by Barbara Cargill (District 8, The Woodlands) and Gail Lowe (District 14, Lampasas). More precisely, a document (called the May 15th Document) for English standards was approved by the board on May 22nd. Ms Cargill and Ms Lowe began work on a new document (called the May 23rd Document during the May 23rd meeting of the board) at lunchtime on May 22nd and completed the May 23rd Document sometime before 8:15 p.m. the evening of May 22nd -- so the May 23rd Document was written up, copied, and delivered in about eight hours.

The May 23rd Document was put together by taking sections of a document prepared by a group consisting of teachers and educational experts and inserting them into the May 15th Document and also by rearranging sections of the May 15th Document. Ms Cargill and Ms Lowe stated they had not edited any sections, but that they had simply cut and pasted entire sections to move them from the May 15th Document and into the May 23rd Document and to change the order of some sections.

Mary Helen Berlanga (District 2, Corpus Christi) pointed out that some things had been added -- for instance, an author list which the board had previously agreed not to include. Patricia Hardy (District 11, Fort Worth) echoed Ms Berlanga's disagreement with the inclusion of an author list.

As the meeting progressed, it became clear that more than just cutting and pasting from the May 15th Document had occurred. Ms Berlanga pointed out an instance where the wording had changed between the May 15th Document and the May 23rd Document, despite what Ms Cargill and Ms Lowe had said. Ms Lowe responded that she used the document that was posted on the TCTELA web site instead of what was passed by the board. It was later revealed in the meeting that the document on TCTELA web site was not the May 15th Document that was passed by the board, but an earlier document.

Later, another instance was pointed out where the wording had changed between the May 15th Document and the May 23rd Document. Ms Lowe admitted that she had inadvertently lifted second grade standards and copied them into third grade standards.

Now mistakes like that will happen, especially in a document that is slapped together in about eight hours. When procedures are followed and experts in the field and other board members are allowed time to look over the document, these mistakes will be found and fixed before a final vote is called.

The proper procedure for the State Board of Education is found in their own rules in section 2.9(a) where it says: "A member wishing to offer a resolution shall give notice of the resolution by submitting a copy to the chair and staff of the board at least one week prior to the posting deadline for the board meeting at which the resolution is to be considered. The board shall consider the resolution and any germane amendments at the next meeting following such notice."

The May 23rd Document passed with nine board members voting for it and six against. The board spent several hours during the May 23rd meeting discussing the differences between the board-approved May 15th Document and the slapped-together May 23rd Document. The English standards will go into effect in the 2009-10 school year. I guess we just have to hope they caught all the mistakes and edits and we won't have high school seniors being held to eighth grade standards.

Voting for a document they had not had a chance to study:

• Don McLeroy, R-Bryan
• Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio
• David Bradley, R-Beaumont
• Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands
• Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond
• Ken Mercer, R-San Antonio
• Terri Leo, R-Spring
• Gail Lowe, R-Lampasas
• Geraldine Miller, R-Dallas

Voting against a document they had not read:

• Lawrence Allen Jr., D-Houston
• Rene Nunez, D-El Paso
• Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi
• Bob Craig, R-Lubbock
• Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth
• Mavis Knight, D-Dallas

Thank you, Ms Knight and Ms Hardy, and shame on you, Ms Miller.

• Listen to the audio files of the May 23rd meeting of the Texas State Board of Education.
• Read the article in the Dallas Morning News.