It's no secret teachers, parents, students and even superintendents are often not fans of the STAAR test.
"Our STAAR test is coming up on Tuesday, it's math and I'm extremely nervous," said student Audrey Perez days before her exam.
State lawmakers listened, and back in 2020, they authorized massive changes to STAAR which included eliminating the clause that held students back in grades 5 - 8 who don't do well on STAAR.
"Students should take a deep breath. They should be calm and do their best and not stress about STAAR results," said Lily Laux, Deputy Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency.
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The test no longer prevents students from advancing to the next grade, but poor performance does require additional work in the classroom, and still impacts end of year requirements for high school students.
Laux may be one of the few that likes STAAR. It's her job; she's one of the primary people responsible for how it works. She's been working with teachers and administrators to revamp the test, which now includes more writing, and working out math problems.
"The students can expect a test that looks more like what they already encounter in their day-to-day instructions. This means non-multiple choice items, writing to every grade, connections to other subjects. Rather than reading unrelated passages it also means they're taking the test online which actually many of our students have familiarity with than actually bubbling in something," said Laux.
There will be more writing out answers, charting out math problems, and actually showing their work. The tests will not just be run through a computer, but graded by actual teachers to better interpret students' answers. The idea is to help start better mirroring the work that's done in the classroom.
The changes address almost everything that is not liked about STAAR, except the pressure it places on teachers. While the test won't prevent a student from moving forward, it still has massive accountability for teachers and schools.
"We're just asking out legislators to look at this system because I believe, and can prove, it is one of the reasons, this accountability system is one of the reasons teachers are leaving the profession," said Mike Waldrip, Superintendent of the Frisco ISD, in a press conference in February.
While schools try to pump up kids for STAAR they still put significant pressure on them to do well, and it's something being discussed on how that too could change to reduce the stress on schools while maintaining the accountability that they educate students.
"It's not the end-all-be-all. It's a great data point and something that has utility for all of us. For our students, are we improving? Are we seeing challenges? Do we need to provide extra support? And we can't do that without data," said Laux.
