Elizabeth Markowitz

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Survey Responses

HAS NOT RESPONDED TO THE 2026 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY.

RESPONSES TO THE 2020 ATPE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

1.  If elected, what will be your top priorities for public education?

While there are a number of issues with the state of the Texas education system, my three priorities would be revising our approach to standardized testing, improving the way we attract, train, and retain educators, and funding our public education system.

Primarily, I believe that we need to revise our approach to standardized testing. As stated above, we need to reduce the number of mandated standardized tests. Some districts reported that they spent 25% of the school year preparing for standardized tests, taking mock standardized tests, or taking EOC exams. Rather than spending so much time on testing, I believe that our teachers should be preparing our students for careers and college. We must also eliminate one-shot, high-stakes standardized tests that can detrimentally affect students, teachers, and institutions. We must remember that the job of the public school system is to prepare our students to succeed and serve our state and country. And life is not a standardized test.

We must also improve the way that we attract, train, and retain our educators. In Texas, over half of our educators do not hold the proper certification to teach in our public school system, and many of those that are certified have gone through alternative certification programs with little quality control. If we are to prepare our students for a successful future, we must have educators that are qualified and able to provide our students with a high-quality education. In order to attract these educators, we must advocate for improved teacher benefits and provide these educators with world-class professional development. We must also ensure that we are preparing our teachers to teach content, rather than teaching students how to pass a standardized test. And, of course, we must provide educators with quality continuing education programs; without such programs, our educators will not stay abreast of current educational trends.

We must also establish a way to fully fund our public education system. Due to the antiquated way we currently fund our schools, we must work towards a total overhaul of the education system to ensure that all students in all districts will receive equitable, high-quality education.

2.  What are your recommendations for funding public education, including securing the necessary revenue to sustain the improvements made by House Bill 3 in 2019? Do you believe additional funding is needed?

I will you support the use of the state's Rainy Day Fund that has more than $11 billion available to help supply the short-term education funding that students need. However, we must develop a sustainable way in which to fund our public education system. Texas could redirect the billions of dollars each year spent on standardized testing by eliminating wasteful, high-stakes STAAR testing. Furthermore, Texas could implement a corporate tax rate that adequately funds our public schools and teachers. Currently, Texas is one of six states without a corporate tax rate, and the state is leaving billions of dollars of revenue on the table.   

3.  How would you address the challenge of rising healthcare costs facing Texas educators and ensure that active and retired educators have access to affordable healthcare?

I will you support increases in state contributions toward health insurance for active and retired school employees and funding mechanisms to enable those contributions to adjust for changes in health-care costs. For far too long, cost of living adjustments have been almost entirely eaten up by the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. My solution to this challenge is threefold. First, teachers need a one-time raise that ensures a living wage for all teachers and prevents any teacher from having to work a second job. Second, this raise must be pegged for future adjustments to cost of living, which includes healthcare costs. Third, we must expand Medicaid in the state, which will significantly lower the cost of healthcare and ensure that our public funds go toward compensating teachers for their work -- not straight into the pockets of the healthcare industry.        

4.   Do you believe the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) should be maintained as a traditional defined benefit pension plan for all future, current, and retired educators, or do you support converting TRS to a defined contribution plan that is more like a 401(k) plan, in which future benefits are not guaranteed?

I would oppose all efforts such as converting secure, efficient defined-benefit plans, which guarantee a pension, into 401(k)- style defined-contribution plans, where each employee would bear all the risk for investment returns while being charged high administrative fees. Furthermore, I support maintaining the state contribution to TRS at least at the current rate and, if necessary for long-term sustainability, increasing it.

5.  What do you feel is the proper role of standardized testing in the Texas public education system? For instance, should student test scores be used for school accountability purposes, for evaluating teachers, for measuring student progress, etc.?

I believe that standardized testing has been an unfortunate cornerstone in the Texas public education system. Standardized testing is so problematic that I dedicated my dissertation to discussing the problematic nature of using such exams as a metric of student achievement or aptitude. Furthermore, for over 15 years I have worked for The Princeton Review, a company that helps students conquer issues associated with standardized testing through the use of test-taking strategies. My background has led me to believe in one truth about standardized testing: standardized tests truly only measure how well an individual can take a standardized test. Indeed, the problem with standardized testing is simple: a standardized test is an invalid and unreliable metric of student achievement or aptitude and has no bearing on a student's ability to succeed in school.

First, I believe we need to eliminate the high-stakes EOC exams required by the state of Texas. Such one-shot, high-stakes tests should neither be used as a barrier to entry to the next level or study nor as requirement for graduation. Rather, such tests could be administered at the beginning of a school year in order to provide teachers with a more complete picture of the abilities of a student, class, or institution. However, we must consider standardized test results in conjunction with past student performance records, teacher recommendations, and formative evaluations that take place throughout the school year. Furthermore, we must ensure that educators are not penalized for student performance on standardized tests—something that has happened through the use of the Value Added Metric in Texas. Similarly, we should not penalize institutions that have lower standardized test scores by withholding financial support. Such actions are in direct opposition to the idea that all students, regardless of race, geographical location, or socio-economic status, should receive a publicly funded, high-quality education.

6.  To what extent should student performance determine teacher pay?

I do not believe that teacher pay should be affected by student performance on high-stakes standardized tests.

7.  Would you vote to create any type of voucher, tax credit, scholarship, education savings account, or other program aimed at paying for students, including any subpopulation of students, to attend non-public K-12 schools, such as private or home schools?

I believe that high-quality public school system that meets the needs of our students should be accessible to all Texans. I do not support "school choice" schemes that use public school funds to support either private or sectarian schools. I believe that public tax money should only be used to support a system of free public schools, and I oppose the implementation of school voucher or tax credit programs that harm the Texas public school system both financially and academically.

The rise of charter schools in Texas has led to increasing inequity in the education of our youth, as it benefits the affluent and harms the underprivileged. Imagine the following scenario:

A charter school costs $25,000 annually to attend, and school vouchers provide individuals with $5,000 in funding. Only individuals that have wealth will be able to pay the $20,000 differential to send their children to the charter school. Those who do not have $20,000 cash on hand will be forced to send their children to the local public school.

Furthermore, charter schools that have affluence and amenities will be more likely to attract the most effective teachers, creating a division in teacher quality amongst the charter and public schools.

Charter schools, and associated voucher schemes, only provide the appearance of equity, while maintaining a class division among the affluent and the impoverished. Should we move to a privatized system of education, the existing class divisions will only deepen; those with wealth and access will be able to attend an educational institution of their choice, while those of a lower socioeconomic will be forced to attend schools that may be of lesser quality. Societies that lack an educated population, due to a poor education system, have low economic stability, high unemployment rates, increased crime rates, poor healthcare, and have a lower quality of life.

Rather than increasing the number of charter schools in Texas, let's take the positive aspects of charter schools and implement them into our Texas public school system. Rather than using taxpayer money to invest in charter schools that are not obligated to accept or retain students, let's take that money and invest it into our Texas public school system. Rather than expanding a system that benefits those in the upper echelon of our society, let's reform the Texas public school system so that we provide a high-quality public education to all Texans.

8.  State law allows educators and other public employees to voluntarily choose to join professional associations such as ATPE and have membership dues deducted from their paychecks at no cost to taxpayers. Do you support or oppose letting all public employees continue to exercise this right?

I support the right of letting all public employees have professional association dues deducted from their paychecks.

9.  What role, if any, should charter schools have in the public education system, and do you feel the number of charter schools operating in Texas should be reduced or expanded?

Please see Question 7.

10. Recent legislation has made it possible for school districts to exempt themselves from many state laws (e.g., class-size limits, requirements for hiring certified teachers, minimum salary schedules, school calendar restrictions, etc.) by partnering with outside entities, allowing campuses to be managed by a charter school operator, or becoming part of a District of Innovation, for example. Do you agree with this type of deregulation of public schools, and how should such non-traditional schools be governed? 

I strongly disagree with such deregulation as it only weakens the strength of the public school system. We should be using taxpayer money to support our public school system, not line the pockets of private operators.

RESPONSES TO THE 2018 SBOE CANDIDATE SURVEY:

1. If elected, what do you believe your primary role and responsibility as a state board member should be?

While I believe there are many issues that must be addressed if elected as a member of the State Board of Education, I believe my primary role and responsibility is to ensure that all Texans, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, ability, sexual orientation, geographical location, or socio-economic status, receive a publicly funded, high-quality education that prepares them to be productive members of the global society in which we live. My other priorities would be curriculum reform, improving the way we attract, train, and retain educators, and revising our approach to standardized testing. I believe that we need to align our curriculum standards with national and international standards for career- and college-readiness. We must also ensure that our teachers are educating our children with practical skills and knowledge, rather than simply preparing students to take standardized tests. Through reforms, we can ensure that all Texans are prepared for a productive future.

2. What role should educators and educator groups like ATPE play in policy decisions made by the State Board of Education (SBOE)?

I believe that educators and educator groups should play an active role in policy decisions made by the Texas State Board of Education. For far too long, policy decisions have been made by those who lack academic and professional experience in the field of education. I find it troublesome that a number of members on the Texas State Board of Education have no experience in the field of education; it is a disservice to students, teachers, and our state to put decisions regarding education into the hands of non-educators. Accordingly, we must first ensure that each member of the Texas State Board of Education has experience in the educational arena. However, the State Board of Education should not be the sole group that determines whether or not to implement a given policy. We must hear from all stakeholders involved in the educational process in order to see the effect a given policy will have on students, teachers, and institutions. Failure to do so is myopic and will result in poorly implemented policy that, inevitably, will waste valuable funds and hurt those it intends to serve. In order to properly serve our students, we must listen to the perspectives and views educators and implement policy accordingly.

3. Do you believe the number of curriculum standards written into the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) is generally too high, too low, or just about right?

I believe that the TEKS need to be completely revamped. Currently, the TEKS do not allow students to adequately develop critical thinking skills and, in turn, are currently failing to properly prepare Texan students to be productive members of society. Unfortunately, the TEKS attempt to address far too many topics, which only provides students with a cursory overview of material and does not allow students to either study material in depth or develop concept mastery. Rather than continuing to sink hundreds of millions of dollars into revising the TEKS, I believe that we should adopt proven curricula that adhere to national and international standards of excellence. Part of the problem is that the TEKS review committee is tasked to ensure that standards align with Texas College and Career Readiness Standards. But, unfortunately, since Texas is 40th in the nation when it comes to public education, our standards are poor, at best. We should learn from states and countries with tier-one education systems and adopt curriculum standards that have been proven to produce career- and college-ready students.

4. Do you believe our state's curriculum requirements allow students to receive a well-rounded education throughout all grade levels? Would you recommend any changes?

Unfortunately, I believe that the current curriculum standards are failing to provide Texas students with a well-rounded education that prepares them to enter either the workforce or higher education. I believe that our ranking in the bottom 20% of the nation speaks to the inadequate nature of current curriculum standards in Texas. Over the past few decades, the curriculum in Texas has narrowed as public school funding has been cut and the emphasis on standardized testing has increased; both of these have had a detrimental effect on the quality of Texas education. While there are many things about our education system I would change, I believe we need to broaden the curriculum to reincorporate subjects such as art, drama, and music. As funding has been cut, Texas schools have been forced to cut such arts programs, which have been shown to improve learning and engagement in the educational process. Furthermore, engagement in arts programs have been shown to not only improve the attentional, cognitive, and emotional capacity of individuals, but schools with arts programs have lower drop-out rates, higher attendance rates, and students that are more engaged in the learning process. We must also incorporate civics and cultural studies back into the curriculum. Texas is one of the most culturally diverse states in the nation, yet we do not educate our students about the various cultures with which we are surrounded. Similarly, Texas is set to educate roughly 12% of the nation's public school population by 2020, yet we do not educate our students on the practical and political aspects of citizenship. If we want our students to be active members of our democracy, we must inform them of their rights and duties as citizens of our country. We often hear complaints about our youth not taking an active role in the world in which they live, but how can we expect students to take part in a system of which they have no knowledge. Accordingly, we must ensure that our students both understand their roles as American citizens and have the cultural perspective to make well-informed decisions in both school and society at large.

5. Would you recommend any changes to the process for adopting and revising the TEKS curriculum standards?

I believe that we must create a more efficient process of revising the TEKS. Currently, the TEKS and instructional materials go through a revision process that lasts approximately four years. In my opinion that is far too much time between revisions and, in turn, TEKS standards will fail to reflect the most current information. If one were to review the Texas State Board of Education TEKS Review Process outline, one would find that the process consists of 22 steps; this is an absurd amount of red-tape to traverse in order to approve curriculum standards, especially when many of the steps in the process must be repeated. Many of these procedural steps can be streamlined to create a more effective approval process. I also believe that partisan politics has had a tremendously detrimental impact on the way in which the TEKS standards are adopted and revised. While I do not believe that public education should be a partisan activity, I do understand that Texas State Board of Education members hold political affiliation. However, I believe that we can lessen the partisan nature of curriculum adoption by ensuring that expert reviewers are nominated by both republican and democrat SBOE members in equal numbers. I also believe that the rule to suspend amendments of standards be done by an impartial party, rather than one with political interests. Too often we have seen TEKS revisions fail to be adopted at the last minute due to partisan influence.

6. What do you think of the overall performance of charter schools in Texas? Should their presence be expanded? Why or why not?

I believe that high-quality public school system that meets the needs of our students should be accessible to all Texans. I do not support "school choice" schemes that use public school funds to support either private or sectarian schools. I believe that public tax money should only be used to support a system of free public schools, and I oppose the implementation of school voucher or tax credit programs that harm the Texas public school system both financially and academically. The rise of charter schools in Texas has led to increasing inequity in the education of our youth, as it benefits the affluent and harms the underprivileged. Imagine the following scenario: A charter school costs $25,000 annually to attend, and school vouchers provide individuals with $5,000 in funding. Only individuals that have wealth will be able to pay the $20,000 differential to send their children to the charter school. Those who do not have $20,000 cash on hand will be forced to send their children to the local public school. Furthermore, charter schools that have affluence and amenities will be more likely to attract the most effective teachers, creating a division in teacher quality amongst the charter and public schools. Charter schools, and associated voucher schemes, only provide the appearance of equity, while maintaining a class division among the affluent and the impoverished. Should we move to a privatized system of education, the existing class divisions will only deepen; those with wealth and access will be able to attend an educational institution of their choice, while those of a lower socioeconomic will be forced to attend schools that may be of lesser quality. Societies that lack an educated population, due to a poor education system, have low economic stability, high unemployment rates, increased crime rates, poor healthcare, and have a lower quality of life. Rather than increasing the number of charter schools in Texas, let's take the positive aspects of charter schools and implement them into our Texas public school system. Rather than using taxpayer money to invest in charter schools that are not obligated to accept or retain students, let's take that money and invest it into our Texas public school system. Rather than expanding a system that benefits those in the upper echelon of our society, let's reform the Texas public school system so that we provide a high-quality public education to all Texans.

7. What role, if any, should the SBOE play in approving textbooks and instructional materials?

I believe that the SBOE should play a role in approving both textbooks and instructional materials, but these materials should be developed by subject matter experts and free from partisan bias and extremist views. However, I do not believe that the SBOE should be the sole board to dictate textbooks and materials. After all, if the SBOE were to provide a list of approved texts and materials, and not allow other materials, educators would be unable to incorporate current, innovative texts and materials as they become available. Consequently, students would not be exposed to alternative materials and would be lacking the most current information and knowledge. Accordingly, I believe that districts should have an expedited system of approval that allows educators to utilize textbooks and materials that are not on the list of SBOE approved items. I believe that the district approval system should be a non-partisan board comprised of multiple individuals, including curriculum specialists, subject matter experts, and teachers, who can determine the strengths and weaknesses of proposed materials and textbooks. Should the board approve the materials and textbooks, these items should be added to a statewide list of approved materials. Not only will this ensure that individual district boards are not reviewing identical material across the state, but it will also provide educators with a database of approved course materials and textbooks.

8. Do you believe the SBOE should continue to have the authority to review and potentially veto any rule actions taken by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC)?

I do believe that the SBOE should continue to have the authority to review and potentially veto any rule actions taken by the SBEC. In much the same way that I believe that there should be oversight on the SBOE when approving textbooks and materials, I believe there should be oversight on the SBEC when considering rule actions. Considering the role of the SBOE in adopting curriculum standards and approving textbooks and materials, it stands to reason that the SBOE should also have a role on actions taken by the SBEC; after all, educator certification is directly linked to the understanding of the TEKS curriculum standards. As a general rule, I believe that all stakeholders should have a say in the adoption or rejection of a proposition.