Former State Board of Education candidate Mark Loewe (Ph. D. Physics, B. S. Physics, B. S. Chemistry) identified scoring mistakes made on questions of the Spring 2003 TAKS Mathematics and Science tests; two of the science questions were discussed in The New York Times. Incorrect scores were issued to more than 400,000 students. According to Loewe, the Texas Education Agency issued false statements about several of the mistakes and failed to correct any of the mistakes.[citation needed]
Also controversial is the mathematics section of the exit level test. This section of the test covers Algebra I, Geometry, and minimal use of basic skills, such as graphs, charts, and grids. The controversy lies in the fact that many students who take higher levels of mathematics seem to fail this test because it does not test their higher-level skills, instead testing skills that they have not recently studied. However, many in the educational community praise the test not for testing higher-level skills but for its assessment of critical thinking based on lower-level skills. Arguably this normalizes the testing field, allowing all students of all mathematical backgrounds to be scored on their knowledge and skills.
The TAKS test's grading standards have come under fire, as some deem them to be too easy. In addition, hundreds of schools throughout Texas have been investigated and audited by the Texas Education Association due to suspicious scoring discrepancies. Also, there is the issue with teachers teaching to the TAKS test, instead of the standard Texas curriculum.
In order to reduce the burden of field testing, Texas' State Board of Education has not released to the public those questions used to determine student scores on the Spring 2005 or Spring 2007 TAKS tests. Regrettably, this prevents public review of the questions and answers (for appropriateness and correctness) and denies opportunities for students, teachers, and others to learn from the tests. However, university-level experts in each of the fields review each high school-level test for accuracy. Grade-level teachers also review test items for appropriateness prior to field testing and review the field test results in order to select the best questions for inclusion in the test item bank.
Recently, there has been some discussion of allowing those 10th graders who achieve "commended" status on the TAKS exam to be exempt from the test during their 11th grade year.