While significant polarization characterizes the national political landscape, a movement in Texas is bucking that trend. A broad-based coalition is taking shape, united in its frustration with the unintended consequences of the high-stakes testing system which has come to dominate public education in Texas and across the country.

In an attempt to make every secondary student “college-ready,” our state has come to rely on a so-called 4-by-4 curriculum and a STAAR test to measure school performance and accountability. A growing number of Republicans and Democrats in the Texas Legislature, business and labor leaders, along with parents, teachers, and school administrators, have come to question the effectiveness of the current system and are calling for the replacement of this one-size-fits-all approach with a common-sense solution that recognizes that students have different talents and interests. [View Article]