Blog
Standardized Testing and the Texas “Miracle in Education”
Sunday, March 1st, 2026
Reflections on Standardized Testing and the Texas “Miracle in Education”
or
How Three Brothers, Two States, and One Law Tried to Destroy Public Education
Back when I attended elementary school and junior high—the concept of the middle school had yet to take hold—in the early ‘60s, Minnesota typically gave students two standardized tests, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Stanford Achievement Test. Both tests had been refined over many decades, and though they were imperfect as all tests are, since they were norm-based and administered nation-wide, they allowed for state-to-state comparisons. Schools and individual students could readily see how they compared to other regions of the country.
Minnesota, along with states like Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Washington State, and several others traditionally scored near the top on these tests. What did the states do that ranked near the bottom? Instead of improving their educational systems by modeling them after the states that were doing well, in the 1990’s they opted to write their own tests. What did Minnesota and the other leading education states do in response? Unfortunately, they chose to follow the new trend and design their own tests as well; thereby, not making our schools better, but greatly enriching the testing industry. And tragically, the state which Minnesota primarily emulated was Texas, due to its so-called “Miracle in Education.”
Publicity in the early 2000’s surrounding Texas’ supposed educational success was touted by folks like Ron Paige, the Superintendent of Houston schools. Paige is one of the primary reasons why Minnesota and many other states followed Texas’ lead. Minnesota’s new test was called the Minnesota Comprehensive Test, or MCA; in Florida it was the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. Sadly, by the time new state tests had been written and implemented, at great expense to taxpayers, it turned out that Ron Paige had faked both test scores and graduation rates in Houston. But before Paige’s deception became public, Congress had already passed the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act, which encouraged states across the country to radically change their educational practices. At the same time, President George Bush, Jr. nominated Ron Paige to be Secretary of Education. And given that Florida’s governor, Jeb was George’s brother, Jeb pushed hard to replicate Texas’ testing practices in his state, too. And to complete the triumvirate, the lesser-known Bush brother—Neil—started a test preparation company in Florida, which attempted to profit from the NCLB legislation.
As one example of how egregious Paige’s actions in Houston were, he claimed a district-wide drop-out rate of 1.5 percent on state reports. But Robert Kimball, an assistant principal at Sharpstown H.S. in Houston, had the courage to report the truth—that the freshman class of 1,000 in his school had dwindled to only 300 graduating seniors. As a reward for his honesty, Kimball was reprimanded and reassigned to a primary school. (The Houston School District would later retract his reprimand and pay him an undisclosed amount in an out-of-court settlement.)
Paige and his Houston school colleagues also routinely inflated scores on standardized tests. One method they used was placing low-performing students, many of whom were Black and Hispanic, in special education classes, where they weren’t required to take the test. At the same time, they went out of their way to ensure that talented football players remained eligible. One trick they employed was keeping football players in ninth grade for two consecutive years, then promoting them directly to 11th grade, which conveniently by-passed the high-stakes standardized test that was given in 10th grade, and which students were required to pass as a graduation requirement.
By the time reporters and educational experts had uncovered the ruse, most states had already followed Texas’ lead and radically changed their testing practices. I was still teaching in Minnesota when the first versions of the MCA arrived. The early iterations of the test were poorly written, fraught with errors and ambiguities, and in some cases, there were massive scoring errors. In 2002 alone, NSC Pearson, the company hired to score Minnesota’s tests, wrongly informed 8,000 students they had failed. As a result, many of those students weren’t allowed to graduate and some in some cases they even dropped out of school. To avoid going to trial, Pearson paid a seven-million-dollar settlement to the affected students, but that didn’t mitigate the trauma they had experienced.
So, in the end, the real Texas miracle was that Ron Paige and his co-conspirators managed to escape the punishment which they so clearly deserved, while millions of innocent students and teachers were forced to suffer through an ill-conceived and unnecessary educational experiment, the negative effects of which linger to this day.
Bubble Sheet Blues review, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Monday, January 5th, 2026
My latest novel, Bubble Sheet Blues, was released on Friday, and Mary Ann Grossman, the long-time book editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press gave it an outstanding review. (highlights in bold)
Bubble Sheet Blues review, by Mary Ann Grossman, St. Paul Pioneer Press
Bubble Sheet Blues by William Durbin (Lake Vermillion Press, $11.95, pub. date: 1-2-26)
It’s going to be a good year for readers if William Durbin’s funny and timely new novel for young readers is an example of what’s to come.
Adults have been talking about mandatory student testing for years, but we rarely hear the feelings of the kids who are forced to take them. That’s why Durbin, two-time Minnesota Book Award winner and a former English teacher, introduces us to Luke Collins, an eighth-grader who’s not very interested in school.
Luke has been coasting through several grades by rewriting a research paper about manatees, earning him the nickname Manatee Cowboy from friends Claire and Gabe. But now he’s been caught by the librarian and has to come up with a new research topic.
During a session with his third-grade reading buddy, Luke watches the little kids sob as they face the coming Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) required by Jeb Bush, Florida’s governor from 1999 to 2007. If kids don’t pass the test (marking answers on a “bubble sheet”) they will have to repeat third grade, even if they are smart and their day-to-day work is excellent. No wonder the first chapter is titled “Bubble Sheet Blues or Dead Dogs and Puke Piles.”
Luke is interested in why this test incites terror in the kids and unease among teachers. As he begins to research the test, he realizes the injustice inherent in the system. He uncovers financial benefits to the testing companies, collusion with lawmakers, and how the tests are unfair to students for whom English is a second language and those with conditions such as dyslexia. Some wealthy families can move their kids to private schools, which don’t give the test. But trailer park students like Luke remain in the public schools.
He figures out the standardized tests aren’t for the students’ benefit, but are a way to keep them from critical, thoughtful learning by making teachers spend weeks and sometimes months preparing for the test. The more Luke learns the angrier he gets, leading to outright revolution in the school, led by Luke, optimistic Claire, and tech-savvy Gabe.
What happens then, thanks to sympathetic teachers and some parents, makes for a great ending. The trio is so jazzed they might even take on banned books for their next project. Luke’s eighth-grade voice is spot on, serious when he’s talking about his research but also funny in dialogue with his friends.
Although this story is being marketed for young adults, every adult with an interest in education should read it, too.
Durbin, who lives near Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota, is known for his young adult historical fiction, including Minnesota Book Award-winners “The Broken Blade” and “The Darkest Evening.” Among his other popular books are “Blackwater Ben” and its sequel “Dead Man’s Rapids.”
Teaser quote: “I walked back to the computers and did a web search of ‘standardized testing in Florida.’ I expected to find a bunch of dull, professor-type essays, but I was surprised to see that two of my all-time favorite authors — Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry, both newspaper columnists — had written about public school testing in Florida.”
HACKENSACK BOOK FESTIVAL & EBOOK DAILY
Thursday, August 10th, 2023
Check out this promotion for Kindle purchases of THE HIDDEN ROOM.
And visit the HAKENSACK BOOK FESTIVAL on Saturday, August 12th.
I’ll be signing books from 9:00 until 3:00
A Creative Thank-you Note
Friday, October 28th, 2022
After returning home from a week of school appearances in Houghton, Painesdale, and Baraga, Michigan, (and spending an enjoyable evening at the Portage Library) I received a a package of thank-you notes from the students in the Jeffers Middle School. My favorite was from Lana, who used the cover of my novel, The Journal of Otto Peltonen, to inspire her art work!
Nov. 17th Author Appearance at North Mankato Library
Wednesday, October 26th, 2022
I’ll be discussing my latest novel, THE HIDDEN ROOM, which is set in Ukraine during the last year of WWII,
as well as my earlier novels. Autographed books will be available.
Event starts at 6:00 p.m.
Stop by and say hi.
