Texas Assessment of Academic Skills
Encyclopedia
The TAAS, or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, was a standardized test used in Texas
between 1991 and 2002, when it was replaced by the TAKS test from 2003 to 2009. Prior to 1990, the test was known as the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills or TEAMS . It was used from grades 3 through 11. If the student passed, he or she no longer needed to take the exam. Passing the Grade 11 level was required for graduation, but many opportunities for retesting were available.
The TAAS tested 3 areas of proficiency: reading, writing, and math. The math and reading sections consisted of multiple choice, while the writing section consisted of a series of prompts for which essay
s had to be written.
In A Content Analysis of Exit Level Mathematics on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills: Addressing the Issue of Instructional Decision-Making in Texas Jere Confrey and David Carrejo criticized the TAAS.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
between 1991 and 2002, when it was replaced by the TAKS test from 2003 to 2009. Prior to 1990, the test was known as the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills or TEAMS . It was used from grades 3 through 11. If the student passed, he or she no longer needed to take the exam. Passing the Grade 11 level was required for graduation, but many opportunities for retesting were available.
The TAAS tested 3 areas of proficiency: reading, writing, and math. The math and reading sections consisted of multiple choice, while the writing section consisted of a series of prompts for which essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
s had to be written.
In A Content Analysis of Exit Level Mathematics on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills: Addressing the Issue of Instructional Decision-Making in Texas Jere Confrey and David Carrejo criticized the TAAS.
External LInks
- History of Testing in Texas. Texas Education Agency Retrieved September 4, 2007.
- Background. Texas Education Agency Retrieved September 4, 2007.