Calculator Directive for 8th-Graders Draws Concerns
Enlargegraphic by: Todd Wiseman
As the state integrates a directive that requires eighth-graders in Texas public schools to have graphing calculators forSTAAR testing, some poorer Texas school districts say that such mandates ignore the financial crunch that many districts are already facing.
In February, Texas Education AgencyCommissioner Michael Williams wrote toTexas superintendents to instruct them that they must ensure that eighth-grade students have graphing calculators for STAAR assessments, starting in the 2014-15 school year. The directive comes after the State Board of Education increased the algebra content on the exam, said Debbie Ratcliffe, a TEA spokeswoman.
While districts have provided calculators for algebra classes, most eighth-grade math classes had previously not been supplied with the calculators, which cost more than $100 each. The state will not provide extra funding for the new calculator mandate, Ratcliffe said, adding that districts receive a specific allotment for spending on instructional materials.
To provide more flexibility for school districts, the requirements were amended to include the option of substituting calculators with math applications on tablet devices. But many property-poor districts and their advocates say that despite the options provided, resources are limited and they have other issues to consider.
“Most of the students in our school district live in poverty,” said Marcus Nelson, superintendent of the Laredo school district, where more than 90 percent of the student body is economically disadvantaged. "We don’t have big budgets to spend from. We are trying to