Update on the Implementation of the Revised
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics

November 19, 2015

COMMITTEE ON INSTRUCTION: DISCUSSION
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION: NO ACTION

SUMMARY: This item provides an opportunity for the committee to receive an update on implementation of the revised Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for mathematics.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Texas Education Code (TEC), §§7.102(c)(4), 28.002, and 28.0021.

Statutory authority is the TEC, §§7.102(c)(4), which requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to establish curriculum and graduation requirements. TEC, §28.002, identifies the subjects of the required curriculum and requires the SBOE to by rule identify the essential knowledge and skills of each subject in the required curriculum that all students should be able to demonstrate and that will be used in evaluating instructional materials and addressed on the state assessment instruments. TEC, §28.0021, requires the mathematics TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 to include instruction in personal financial literacy.

BOARD RESPONSE: This item is presented for review and comment.

PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION: The SBOE adopted the TEKS for elementary and middle school mathematics to be effective September 1, 1998. The mathematics TEKS in 19 TAC Chapter 111, Subchapters A and B, were amended to be effective August 1, 2006.

In January 2011, the board approved revisions to the process for review and revision of the TEKS and directed staff to use the revised process beginning with review and revision of the mathematics TEKS. Proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 111, Subchapters A-C, were approved for second reading and final adoption in April 2012. The revised mathematics TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 were implemented beginning with the 2014-2015 school year and the revised TEKS for high school mathematics were implemented beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. At the November 2014 SBOE meeting, an update item on the revised mathematics TEKS for Kindergarten-Grade 8 was presented before the Committee on Instruction. In April and July 2015, the SBOE adopted TEKS for two new high school mathematics courses. Statistics and Algebraic Reasoning were adopted effective August 24, 2015.

FUTURE ACTION EXPECTED: None.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND SIGNIFICANT ISSUES: Applications for appointment to mathematics TEKS review committees were accepted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) from October 2010 to early January 2011. Applications received prior to the November 2010 SBOE meeting were provided to SBOE members at the November meeting so that members could begin nominating individuals to serve on these committees. Applications received after the November 2010 SBOE meeting were provided to SBOE members at the January 2011 meeting so that board members could complete the nominations. Nominations for expert reviewers and mathematics TEKS review committee members were made in February 2011.

In anticipation of the review and revision of the mathematics TEKS, the commissioner of education convened a group of advisors to review current research and resources and to offer suggestions regarding the TEKS revision and future professional development. The Commissioner's Mathematics Advisory Group, established in the fall of 2010, included mathematics educators and mathematicians from Texas. The recommendations of the Commissioner's Mathematics Advisory Group regarding the next generation of mathematics standards in Texas were compiled and then reviewed by a panel of national advisors in mathematics, known as the National Review Team. The resulting recommendations, known as The Commissioner's Draft of the Texas Mathematics Standards, were provided to the SBOE at its April 2011 meeting.

The mathematics TEKS review committees were convened in Austin in May 2011 to begin work on draft recommendations for revisions to the TEKS. The committees met again in July 2011 to complete their initial draft recommendations. In August 2011, the first draft recommendations were provided to the board and to the board-appointed expert reviewers and posted to the TEA website for informal public feedback. These initial drafts were reviewed by the expert reviewers. During the September 2011 Committee of the Full Board meeting, expert reviewers and representatives from the TEKS review committees provided invited testimony on the first draft recommendations.

The mathematics TEKS review committees met again in October 2011 to review feedback and complete recommendations for revisions to the mathematics TEKS. The recommendations from the review committees were provided to the Committee of the Full Board at the November 2011 meeting and were posted on the TEA website. The proposed revisions were presented for first reading and filing authorization at the January 2012 meeting, and a public hearing on the proposed revisions was held at that time. At the January 2012 meeting, the SBOE approved amendments to the implementation date of the revised TEKS. The implementation date would be contingent upon the determination by the commissioner of education of the availability of instructional materials for mathematics. Following determination by the commissioner that instructional materials would be made available by August 31, 2013, the revised mathematics TEKS for Kindergarten to Grade 8 were implemented in the 2014-2015 school year and the revised mathematics TEKS for high school were implemented in the 2015-2016 school year.

FISCAL IMPACT: None.

PUBLIC AND STUDENT BENEFIT: Benefits include better alignment of the TEKS, stronger standards to prepare students for college and career, and coordination of the standards with the adoption of instructional materials.

PROCEDURAL AND REPORTING IMPLICATIONS: None.

LOCALLY MAINTAINED PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS: None.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Numerous comments and questions have been received about the revised mathematics TEKS.

OTHER COMMENTS AND RELATED ISSUE: None.

Staff Members Responsible:
Monica Martinez, Associate Commissioner
Standards and Programs

Shelly Ramos, Division Director
Curriculum

Attachment:
Statutory Citations (PDF, 17KB)