Survey Results for School District Communication with Families about HB 5 This spring Texas PTA conducted two surveys seeking information about how well schools and school districts have communicated with parents about changes resulting from the passage of House Bill 5 (HB 5), landmark education reform legislation that passed in 2013. The surveys were designed to determine the level to which parents are being informed about these important changes, and to gauge whether parents are being included in the process for evaluating community and student engagement. HB 5 made many changes to public school graduation requirements and state‐mandated tests, and placed limits on the number of benchmark tests a district may administer in preparation for STAAR and high school End‐of‐Course tests. The bill also added a new piece to schools’ accountability – The Community and Student Engagement Self‐Evaluation. The results of both surveys are below. Here are a few things to take‐away: It appears that quite a few more school districts communicated with parents about STAAR and end‐of‐course assessment changes (Q2) between the first survey and the second. There's been a slight increase in the percentage of parents who have heard from districts about the community engagement evaluation, although few parents appear to be included in the process. Much more communication must be done regarding limits on benchmark testing.
First survey was conducted 4/4/14
to 4/10/14 – 1249 respondents
Second survey was conducted 5/5/14 to 5/11/14. 753 respondents
1. Has your district conducted meetings for middle and high schoolers and/or communicated by electronic or printed newsletter to explain the new graduation requirements and the new endorsements that students may earn as part of their graduation plan? Don’t Know
Yes
No
Don't Know
No
Yes
19% 31%
51%
26% 23%
50%
Results shown without “Elementary aged only”
2. Has your district shared information about changes to STAAR and high school end‐of‐course exams? Don't Know
No
Yes
Don't Know
13%
43% 32% 25%
Results shown without “Elementary aged only”
No
58%
29%
Yes
3. Has your district published information about the new requirement for campuses to evaluate themselves on community and student engagement?
Don't Know
No
20%
Yes
Don't Know
26%
50%
30%
No
Yes
34%
40%
4. Have you received any request for input as part of the evaluation of community and student engagement? This may come from your campus or from the school district.
Don't Know
No 14%
Yes
27% 59%
5. Are there parent representatives on the district committee charged with developing criteria for the community and student engagement evaluation? Don't Know
No
Yes
14%
8% 78%
6. Has your district or campus made you aware of the new limits on the number of benchmark tests a school may administer in preparation for STAAR and EOC tests?
Don't Know
No
Yes
Don't Know
No 17%
25% 27% 48%
29% 54%
Yes