Several state lawmakers recently joined with nine superintendents in sending a formal request to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Education Commissioner Mike Morath to suspend the high-stakes testing program known as the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).
Abbott has announced that the grade promotion requirement related to STARR for 5th- and 8th- grade students has been waived for the upcoming school year.
The test was suspended in this past school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but requests have been pouring in to continue the suspension for the upcoming school year as well.
The pandemic has unveiled a level of increased distrust and dislike for "high-stakes" testing, where all accountability, evaluation, incentives, and funding (for teachers, students and schools) are tied to the results of one particular test.
Abbott released a statement Monday detailing his most recent decision regarding STARR. The traditional A-F rating system will remain in place but will have certain adjustments due to COVID-19.
Normally, students enrolled in grades 5 and 8 are required to retake a STAAR test late in the school year, and sometimes again in the summer, if they do not meet grade level.
The newly imposed waiver states that there will only be one STARR test for grades 5 and 8 regarding mathematics and reading assessments for the 2020–21 school year. The test will be administered in May to coincide with the administration of other STAAR grades 3-8 assessments.
"As always, our goal is to provide a high quality education for every Texas student," Abbott noted in his statement. "This will be a uniquely challenging school year. This year is about providing students every opportunity to overcome the disruptions caused by COVID-19. By waiving these promotion requirements, we are providing greater flexibility for students and teachers, while at the same time ensuring that Texas students continue to receive a great education — which we will continue to measure with high-quality assessments."
Morath added in the released statement that parents deserve to know how well their children have learned grade-level knowledge and skills in reading and math, especially during a time when education has been substantially disrupted.
"Educators use this valuable information to make adjustments to support students the following year," he said. "But there is no benefit to our children by requiring them to repeat a year based on a single test score, given the disruptions of COVID, so we are waiving the grade promotion requirements from STAAR this year for our students.”
State Rep. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton), says getting consistent guidelines are important moving forward.
“What our school districts need from the Texas Education Agency are clear and consistent guidelines,” Beckley said. “Given the current uncertainty and the rapid rise in COVID-19 case positives in recent weeks, our educators need flexibility for the upcoming academic school year so they can focus on teaching, not testing.
“Due to the difference in community transmission regionally, as well as differences between how schools will be operating, the STAAR test would not be a good benchmark to measure the performance of our students this year. Once there is a full vaccine and the pandemic has subsided, then we can evaluate a reasonable standardized testing solution.“
