The Senate Committee on Nomination heard from Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. This report focuses only on testimony relating to Commissioner Morath’s nomination.
This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. It is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing but is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.
Commissioner Morath
Watson – introduced Morath
- Serving state for quite some time
- Heads education agency for more than 5 million students enrolled in public schools
- Focused on 4 priority areas: principal and teacher, reading and math, high school to career and college and improving low performing schools
- Graduated from Garland ISD, BA degree Suma Cum Laude in just 2.5 years
Commissioner Morath
- Gets to wake up everyday and think about how to help 5.5 million souls
- Path is somewhat untraditional but always passionate about supporting kids
- Met wife on medical mission trip, she was an eye doctor helping at an orphanage
- Big brother – recalls one of his “littles” who did not have sufficient literacy
- Sold his software company and ran for school board in Dallas ISD
- Have missionaries that work in schools all over Texas, schools are not like a business in that work is to take bundle of energy and turn them into self-aware members of the republic
- Four priorities – need to love on those who love on kids, teacher most important factor
- No more toxic view of profession than those who can’t teach
- Teachers are like brain surgeons – expands on this metaphor
- Improve ability to support, recruit and retain teachers at TEA
- Buckingham – mentioned you were target of threats, sorry about that. What are you most proud of in things that you have done?
- Motivated by outcomes – in 2017-18 saw most improvement in low performing campuses in history
- Raise floor of opportunity so all kids have access to rigorous pathway
- Triangulation of activities to focus on neediest schools and students has seen positive results, it is motivating and something he is particularly proud of
- Seliger – convinced that Morath wakes up and thinks about 5.7-5.8 million kids, STAAR test report from A&M Commerce on readability test noting STAAR was not at grade level, refers to additional report that determined STAAR test did not match Lexile. Refers to changes made to STAAR since 2012, and asked is STAAR test testing at grade level in which student is working at right now?
- Bill called for study if questions were aligned on TEKS and on grade level, a third party group conducted the study said yes
- He knows of other study and he ordered in 2017 Lexile ban, he reacted to old studies even though from standpoint of validity it was not necessary
- He never did a press release to say that change was made which it was in 2018 STAAR test
- Seliger – what studies other than Mary Hardin Baylor
- MHB, A&M Commerce and legislator ordered an independent analysis and they contracted with the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO)
- Seliger – since changes made, had anyone come along to see if they are on grade level? Do you believe it is the case that test was valid at that time?
- Would need to look at HumRRO
- Seliger – thought you said it was not valid now
- HumRRO is but not MHB because study looked at different things
- Seliger – Lexile is a national test/measure that is not about TEKS yet they still arrive at the same conclusion, so is MHB not practical
- Used judgement of teachers, yes, MHB cut and paste and looked at readability
- Seliger – these questions still come up that they are not at grade level
- Have a process on test construction, sometimes there is no unanimous agreement, only move forward if broad base agreement
- Seliger – if questions were inadequately aligned a few years can they still be inadequately aligned?
- It depends on what aligned to – they are aligned with TEKS
- Seliger – not saying they are not aligned TEKS but are they aligned to grade level
- Teachers know what is appropriate, HumRRO study determined grade level alignment
- Reviews process – sets up teacher institute and they also use them in early passage review, given concern in field he decided to impose strict cap based on algorithms
- Seliger – who determines if caps are appropriately aligned
- Used grade level bans set by Lexile, norm referenced process
- Seliger – not sure he understands the process, when do questions go on to the test?
- Teachers have to approve it and not every question passes
- Seliger – what do you do when you get that response?
- Don’t use it
- Develop thousands of questions but will only use a few of them
- Seliger – believes this impacts A-F and inclined to think a study is needed
- HumRRO is based on professional educators and MHB based on logarithms/computer
- Selgier – do you think it is time for an independent study?
- Rely on legislature, important to establish confidence in field of test
- Seliger – HB 743 said STAAR is statistically accurate, but readability was not done in HumRRO study
- Grade level fit was a component of HumRRO study
- HB 743 said don’t issue another test until study says test is valid
- Seliger – inclined to believe that STAAR test needs to undergo another review for grade level suitability
- If the legislature wants us to do it we will do it, he says he is just staff “you all run the joint”
- Alvarado – would obviously need your cooperation, references Powell bill on audit
- Does what the law tells him
- Alvarado – had discussion with him on Houston, if you have a few schools failing and threat of complete takeover, can you expand on your thought process?
- Reviews IR takeover process must either order a BOM or closure, make sure governing bodies don’t celebrate success where students are not have the same level of success
- That policy framework will quicken the pulse
- Miles – thank you for always making yourself available, commend him and the staff for turning some 20 odd schools around, would you agree those three schools in Houston are on track to be turned around
- Would need to look, being very bold and aggressive in Houston ISD
- Miles – leadership under Superintendent, feels confident this can be done
- Miles – no way he can let him get out of there without talking about STAAR, since you have been at TEA has STAAR ever been studied for readability?
- IN 2016 the STAAR was studies for validity and reliability, mostly yes but not precisely in the way the criticism was laid
- Study looked at grade level appropriateness and study found yes
- But have never done a study looking at computer algorithms
- Change made in 2017 that showed up in 2018 should show different results
- Miles – why some assessment tools, like Istation, are predicting different results?
- Test are looking at different things, STAAR is looking at TEKS and Istation is a different reading scale
- They are testing different concepts
- Miles – will move from STAAR test and to Houston Chronicle article on charter schools and misappropriation of funding?
- That article was about one charter school, they investigated it
- They don’t have subpoena powers so they sometimes run up against road blocks
- They investigated it and found nothing that does not meet state law, it is “shady” but it meets law
- Miles – sure they will be putting something in place
- Have thin investigative staff and charter staff
- Will say condos are owned by State of Texas
- Watson – bill has been filed related to creation of office of OIG for TEA, originally no fiscal note which makes no sense and the way it is currently worded so that OIG would be able to investigate fraud or abuse in public schools but unlike OIG in HHSC this office only inspect local, not TEA. Seems like they should mirror what is done in HHSC. The office should focus not just on locals but on TEA.
- Have authority to do that already, SAO offers independent audits and investigations of TEA and they have done so
- Framework is already established for that to happen currently
- Watson – did you help draft the language?
- Yes, statutory weakness for local districts or hybrid districts
- Watson – if it is created in your department, won’t you have to hire people?
- Have SIU (Special Investigators Unit) right now so if they could increase posture by 5 FTEs that would be significant
- Watson – would take SIU unit and make it OIG
- Yes and add a few bodies to it
- Seliger – in response to Miles, referred to 2016 study as not precisely readability?
- Didn’t measure based on computer algorithms but it did on teacher experts
- Seliger – are you under impression you need legislation for you to research readability?
- Will need money, about $250k to do a study
- Seliger – doesn’t TEA have it in billions appropriated to them in next few years
- School budgets are different than funds going to TEA
- Seliger –would you need language saying funding would need to go to study
- Yes
- Menendez – STAAR pre-dates your service, could provide him many letters from teachers that say they quite teaching because of STAAR, thinks he heard him say IStation was not a worthy test
- Has similar correspondence
- Istation is valuable test but is different
- If stopped STAAR would not have a test that measures Texas curriculum standards
- Menendez – what is passing rate for STAAR?
- Don’t call anything passing – approaching, meets and masters grade level based on policy definition on how well prepared students are
- Ballpark 80%
- Rodriguez – heard lower than that, heard because it is testing the stretching in mastery
- Menendez – part of the problem in his opinion, is that it feels like Texas is requiring teachers to teach to a test rather than let them be teachers so how can you provide accountability but in way that teachers feel like they can teach and students not have anxiety
- Menendez – asked about a rule making process
- Most complicated right under A-F, decent level of information from the field, ideally would have gotten the rules out faster
- Menendez – STAAR test putting so much pressure on Teacher and students, story of one student who was upset for his teacher; if confidence is not there maybe we hit pause measure or find a different way to do accountability, if we want to recruit and retain teachers, we need a new system overall, we can do better
- Buckingham – STAAR test is what we gave you so maybe we need to give you another alternative
- There are alternatives, most are more expensive
- Menendez – how many other tests are we doing that the federal government doesn’t require?
- Middle school and High School could reduce
- Menendez – have done nothing to reduce test in elementary school
- Generally two test a year but there is an exception where students get 3 and one where they get 4
- Menendez – have had higher NAEP scores before
- Refers to TEA handout, multiple test telling them same thing
- There is a reading problem in the state of Texas
- Can change measuring stick if they want
- Buckingham – no further questions at this time, open up to public testimony
Steve Swanson, self
- Discovered students in school are not the problem, solutions lie at the top
- Looking back towards existing laws at the top
- Request look at qualifications, education, leadership
Parent of student with disabilities
- Opposes nomination
- Appreciate 4 priorities, wish they extended to disability
- Wants inclusion and inclusive practices and wants the commissioner selected to reflect that as well