A big sigh of relief for students in Birdville ISD. Administrators there have canceled end of semester tests for all schools in the district.
Candyce Mercado's children are virtual learners and they're trying to stay on track after her son caught COVID-19 after playing football with an infected player and the whole family got sick.
"Everyone in my house got sick and so for two weeks no one did any work and now we're playing catchup," said Mercado. "My daughter she's in 7th grade she has straight A's and she's struggling for the second six weeks."
The struggles she's seeing are not unique to those battling COVID-19.
"I have a 9th grader that's struggling," said Beronica Martinez-Gregory. "Our children are still trying to adapt from online to face to face and the virtual world is very different, especially for those sheltered from social media and screen time."
It all adds up to a concern for educators. Birdville ISD knew their kids were struggling and teachers need every minute they can get to try to bounce back.
The board canceled semester exams so students and teachers didn't have to worry about reviewing but could worry about catching up.
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"It takes a little bit of that pressure off that we just continue to do what's right for our students and for our staff as well," said Mark Thomas, a district spokesperson.
Parents we spoke with say tests have to happen one day so teachers have a better idea of how much kids are behind but say right now, this is the right move.
When Birdville announced the move, parents not only cheered but are now calling on districts to petition TEA to eliminate STARR testing requirements later this year.
