The Texas State Adoptions Are Coming: What You Should Expect
Every eight years, the Texas State Board of Education begins a new cycle for textbook adoption, with new subject areas taking a turn each year. Publishers return their favor by submitting their intent to bid and have approximately a year to produce materials that meet the new and incoming standards.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed gaps that have persisted in education for a very long time. Many students, especially low-income and minority students, experienced significant learning losses. In core subjects like math and reading, several students have been found to be falling behind expectations. With such overbearing concerns, schools require greater resources to overcome learning loss, such as tutoring and an extended school year, as well as an investment in counselors and mental health services for socio-emotional well-being.
As lifelong success is often associated with educational attainment, completing some education beyond the 12th grade is considered a necessity. Curricula are expected to bring what happens in the classroom closer to what happens in the workplace. As educators and legislators continue their work to better align K-12, higher education, and the workforce, they also now need to account for the threat of occupations that are in danger of being lost to technology; now accelerated by COVID.
The 2023 Texas state adoptions embrace these movements in the education sector and have responded with changes in the curriculum to better support students and teachers.
5 things to look out for in the 2023 Texas state adoptions
1. Mental Health
New challenges faced by teachers and students have brought mental health to the forefront of education reform. There will be a greater emphasis on providing much-needed resources for social-emotional learning and integrating emotional management skills into the social-emotional learning and character development curriculum. Moreover, districts will be able to use state compensatory funds to support programs that teach students how to manage emotions, form and maintain strong relationships, and make responsible decisions.
2. DE&I Legislation
A higher focus is placed on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that have resulted in various updates for instructional requirements in the civics and social studies curriculum. The adoption of “essential knowledge and skills” in the social studies or civics curriculum by the Texas State Board of Education will include an understanding of delineated U.S. social movements, founding documents, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Teachers will strive to examine the topic from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.
3. Online Summative Assessments
The unprecedented 2020–2021 school year necessitated the use of digital resources and learning analytics. The number of students who took tests online increased significantly, allowing for more insights into the advantages of fully online summative assessments and digital content. By the 2022–2023 school year, Texas state assessments are required to be administered online. This transition will require nearly all students to be assessed online with certain exceptions. The digital adoption of assessments will provide faster test results, supporting accelerated learning. In addition, evaluations will be able to include new non-multiple-choice questions, which will give students more opportunities to demonstrate their understanding and better reflect on questions asked in class.
4. Learning Delivery
Virtual or hybrid learning, when built well, can be revolutionary for certain students and educators, opening up new possibilities for personalization and “anytime, anywhere” learning. The focus on augmented reality, virtual reality, and simulations has created new and exciting ways to share knowledge and offer virtual learning experiences from the comfort of your own home. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is providing resources to support virtual instruction until fall 2023, including the Virtual and Hybrid Program Accelerator (VHPA) for families who aren’t ready for their children to return to school.
5. Learning Loss Interventions
Reading proficiency among Texas students has historically trailed behind the rest of the country. Texas public schools are offering intervention for pupils who are falling behind academically. Districts must give 30 hours of targeted tutoring or pair students with highly rated educators to students who failed state assessments. There is a push to catch students up in core areas like reading in classroom instruction to mitigate the learning losses of the online learning environment.
As one of the leading K-12 education technology companies, we’re always curious to find new perspectives on the latest in education and learning.
