STAAR testing protocol still on, Teachers for Texas director says 'it is almost certain that the students will do exceptionally poorly' on tests this year

The A-F ratings of schools have been suspended for the school year by the TEA, but the academic accountability ratings of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) requirement will continue, according to a Texas Education Agency (TEA) press release.

“The pandemic has disrupted school operations in fundamental ways that have often been outside the control of our school leaders, making it far more difficult to use these ratings as a tool to support student academic growth,” TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in the release.

While Morath blamed the disruption on COVID-19, advocates, such as Teachers for Texas Executive Director Tera Collum, say it’s not a win-win scenario.

Melissa Martin | File Photo

“I doubt most people are concerned with the A-F rating system,” Collum told Education Daily Wire. “The STAAR being given is going to increase anxiety in students and lower their self-esteem when they do not do as well as they want and they will get frustrated by not being able to understand the information.”

The A-F rating system measures factors such as graduation rate and attendance.

“There is a component of the rating system that is about student performance,” Collum said. “It is almost certain that the students will do exceptionally poorly on the STAAR this year due to the lack of education they are receiving if they are virtual. Large numbers of students are failing because last year they got away with not turning in work and now think it's the new normal.”

The STAAR exam results are used to evaluate performance in reading, writing, math, science and social studies for 3rd- through 12th-grade students, but the coronavirus has caused inconsistent student participation and other virtual learning deficiencies. 

“I do think that accountability is necessary,” Innovative Teachers of Texas Treasurer Melissa Martin told Education Daily Wire. “I also think it's important for students to be able to measure their own growth and be able to see that they're succeeding more and more each year, but I don't feel the STAAR test is necessarily the best measurement for that.”

As previously reported by Education Daily Wire, Gov. Greg Abbott suspended the controversial testing program for the recent school year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the TEA decided to proceed with STAAR testing for students in the 2020-2021 academic year.

“From a teacher's perspective, the STAAR is just something that can be disheartening when you are rated based on how your kiddos perform with the STAAR test,” Martin said.

The test will be administered on school campuses across the state or at other secure alternative testing sites. However, the TEA announced it will provide schools the flexibility to remove the teaching evaluation factor for this school year.  

Martin prefers the alternative of one achievement test at the end of the year that covers several subjects.

“We would take that one test and wouldn’t need to have a STAAR test for English one day, then one for math the next day and another day for a STAAR test in history so that the teachers are able to focus a little bit more on teaching throughout the year and not worry quite as much about a test,” she said.