The Texas statewide assessment program includes the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), the State Developed Alternative Assessment (SDAA), the Reading Proficiency Tests in English (RPTE), and the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). As of 2004, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is a completely reconceived testing program. It assesses a broader range of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) than the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) and contains authentically worded questions. TAKS has been developed to better reflect good instructional practice and to more accurately measure student learning.

Merit’s Language Arts and math software programs correlate to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and can help students prepare for TAKS. The content and format of Merit’s programs can help students develop and strengthen their test-taking skills as well as their reading, writing and math skills.

The TAKS reading assessments evaluate a subset of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the state-mandated curriculum. This curriculum is specifically designed to help students make progress in reading by emphasizing the knowledge and skills most critical for student learning. Because the TAKS reading tests are closely aligned with the TEKS, students who effectively learn the TEKS will become proficient readers who are able to perform successfully on the test without unnecessary emphasis on test preparation.

Merit reading software has been proven -- through rigorous, scientifically based research -- to increase both student reading comprehension and standardized test scores. Merit research study findings reveal that education software is an effective tool to improve test scores and academic performance.

Published: January 2005