For Immediate Release: September 20, 2021
Contact: Rob D’Amico, 512-627-1343, rdamico@texasaft.org
Florida leaves Texas behind on standardized testing
Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the end of standardized testing in Florida. Given that news, the Texas American Federation of Teachers looks forward to celebrating this milestone in Texas very soon!
Gov. Greg Abbott has made a habit of copying DeSantis’ every move, so we hope legislation permanently canceling STAAR will be added to the agenda for the third special session of the Texas Legislature.
To encourage the governor, Texas AFT has launched a media and digital campaign this week to urge Abbott to follow Florida’s example and end standardized testing in Texas. The campaign includes print and digital ads in the Austin American-Statesman and The Texas Tribune, along with efforts to mobilize AFT’s more than 65,000 members statewide.
If Gov. Abbott wants to copy all the extremist homework of Florida and other states on banning mask mandates, the least he could do is emulate a move that would actually help students and educators. Our members will send letters to the governor, urging him to close our “achievement gap” with Florida and end high-stakes standardized testing in Texas.
“In an ongoing pandemic, the governor has devoted his time to denying schools the tools they need to keep students and staff safe,” said Zeph Capo, Texas AFT president. “It would be a pleasant change of pace for state leaders to do something that would free students and educators from the useless and harmful burden of standardized testing.”
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The Texas American Federation of Teachers represents more than 65,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, support personnel, and higher-education employees across the state. Texas AFT is affiliated with the 1.7-million-member American Federation of Teachers and AFL-CIO.