This article provides an introduction to a number of issues and resultant conflicting opinions, held by plaintiffs and defendants, that characterized the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case. The authors discuss eight different issues and the conflicting opinions that accompany them. These issues are concerned with the (a) explanation of why some minority students fail TAAS, (b) history of racial/ethnic minority discrimination in Texas schools, (c) opportunity to learn TAAS content, (d) alignment between teaching and TAAS, (e) adverse impact of the TAAS test on minority students, (f) psychometric integrity of TAAS, (g) decision model for awarding the high school diploma, and (h) accountability model.
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