Editor’s note: U.S. District Judge Edward Prado of San Antonio ruled Jan. 7 that the use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test to determine whether students get their high school diploma is constitutional. Although Prado found that the test has had a disparate impact on minorities, he concluded that the test serves a necessary function of holding schools accountable and ensuring that graduates do possess a minimum level of knowledge, and that the plaintiffs failed to identify equally effective alternatives to accomplish those goals.
The plaintiffs in GI Forum, et al. v. Texas Education Agency, et al. are weighing whether to appeal. Texas Attorney General John Cornyn, whose office defended the test, calls Prado’s ruling “a landmark event in public education” that will help Texas “prepare its children for higher education and the world beyond.”
