The Testing Industrial Complex: Texas and Beyond

Abstract

The Testing Industrial Complex (TIC) is a system (and at the same time a cycle) in which high-stakes standardized testing fuels neoliberal education reforms and vice versa. These “reforms” and cycles have monetized for profit the public education system in which curriculum, students, and teachers have been packaged and sold for corporate profit. The Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) is a system in which inmates, which are disproportionately Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), are packaged then sold to private corporations for profit. This policy brief examines two systems, the Testing Industrial Complex and the Prison Industrial Complex and how they directly impact students in the state of Texas and the U.S. In detail below, two alternatives are particularly worthy of consideration: a) multiple measures accountability; and b) evidence-based interventions. We close with policy recommendations for state-level policy makers and school leaders.