STAAR exams should be waived another year, Texas legislators urge TEA

The Lone Star State can do without the STAAR student assessment tests this school year, says Texas state Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Dallas).

The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams were not held at the end of the 2019-20 school year, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation and schools were dismissed early. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has scheduled the tests for this year, although it was recently announced they would not be used for assessing if a student should advance to the next grade.

That’s not good enough for several legislators of both parties, as well as a growing number of school districts. They are asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the TEA to set the high-pressure exams aside for a second straight year.

Texas state Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos (D-Dallas) | File photo

Ramos is a first-term Democrat who represents District 102. She is currently seeking a second term.

A lawyer who operates her own law firm and also serves as an associate professor at Dallas College El Centro Campus, Ramos said she was driven to run for office to be an advocate for immigrant, Muslim and LGBTQ communities, and to protect marginalized groups and working-class families. She has shown what a person can do through force of will and a desire for education and advancement. 

Ramos became a mother at 15 and left school. She returned to the classroom and earned a GED from Dallas Can Academy.

Following that, she attended Eastfield Community College and the University of Texas at Arlington before going on to obtain an MBA from Texas Woman’s University, and her Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University.

In a letter Ramos co-wrote with state Rep. Rhetta Bowers (D-Garland) that was published in the Austin American-Statesman, with state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) signing on as well, the legislators said the STAAR exams would only add to the anxiety students will feel in 2020-21. The tests were waived for the 2019-20 school year as the pandemic took hold, and a request for an exemption from the federal government would be approved once again.

“Texas should join other states in requesting a waiver from 2020-21 standardized testing requirements from the U.S. Department of Education,” the letter stated. “Our children would be better served by redirecting the tens of millions of dollars spent on the STAAR test to pandemic-time necessities, such as the expansion of internet access and support for school districts struggling to provide for students with learning disabilities.”

The standardized exams would not serve a useful purpose during a unique and challenging school year, the legislators said.

“The STAAR test is not a diagnostic test,” the letter stated. “Administered at the end of the school year, it does not give teachers information they need to address gaps in a child’s education. Teachers and schools already have diagnostic tools to assist in curriculum planning. STAAR only ranks schools and students on content they should have learned under normal circumstances. These are not normal times. We know that students, through no fault of their own, have fallen behind. We should prioritize investments in educational support to keep children engaged and learning.”

Ramos and her fellow legislators urged the state to focus on expanding access to broadband internet, since at some point during the school year students will likely be learning online.

“An estimated 2 million Texas households do not have high-speed internet access,” the legislators wrote. “And Microsoft finds that 14.6 million Texans — roughly half the state’s population — do not use the internet at broadband-level speed. Texas can eliminate this major obstacle to education access by expanding broadband access to Texas families.

“The reality is that STAAR preparation and testing consumes a significant amount of this time,” the letter continued. “That time is more precious than ever, with teachers attempting novel strategies to keep students engaged and learning. If our goal in public education is to ‘leave no child behind,’ Texas should, at minimum, make investments to help those who have an elevated risk of falling behind during this pandemic.”

House District 102 is located in Dallas County and includes the cities of Dallas, Addison, Richardson and Garland.

Ramos has served her community as executive director of Jubilee Park and Community Center in Dallas, devoting herself to revitalization projects, including championing a new campus for Dallas College El Centro Campus. 

Education is a major interest for Ramos, as she is a member of the Richardson Council of PTAs and her daughter Ana teaches science in a Dallas public school. Her son Diego has worked as a lifeguard and husband Johnny has been a Dallas public servant for more than 20 years. The Ramoses live in Richardson.