STAAR

Houston Independent School District Superintendent Millard House II took to the mic with concern in his voice.

On Wednesday's show: What STAAR Test results tell us about the pandemic's effect on education, the week in politics, and one way the pandemic might've been good for our brains.

The number of students failing to meet grade-level went up statewide across all grade levels and nearly all subject areas according to results of the Spring 2021 STAAR test released Monday by the Texas Education Agency.

Districts across the state saw significant drops in student performance on the STAAR tests, according to preliminary results.

By Sachi McClendonMARFA – At Monday’s meeting, the Marfa Independent School District Board struggled to nominate a new board president, but was able to come together to make a pledge to have only face-to-face classes next school year, barring another coronavirus outbreak. At the beginning of the meeting, new board member Rene Gonzales was sworn into his position. It was motioned by Board President Katie Price Fowlkes to restructure the board to where Christa Marquez would become president, Price Fowlkes would step down to VP and Teresa Nunez would remain secretary. Nunez, who wanted the role of president, said that veteran board members like herself should be at the top of the committee hierarchy. Toward the end of the meeting, the board passed a motion to only offer face-to-face instruction for the next school year.

UISD’s Executive Director for High School Education Dolores Barrera provided an update...

Several school districts in the Houston area reported problems Tuesday with the online version of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test.

HOUSTON – Texas students in remote learning won’t be required to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness exam, according to Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. This option will be available for parents who are concerned about sending their children to school. “The kid won’t take the test and they won’t have access to that information,” said Morath, during a virtual conversation with The Texas Tribune on Thursday. Morath said that the state decided not to cancel the STAAR test because schools need the data from the tests to measure the student’s learning. He added that the state did not have the “logistical ability to do the STAAR remotely.”Students must attend school in-person to take the standardized test.

(TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Texas public school students must show up in person to take the STAAR test this spring and districts can apply for waivers to socially distance test-takers, according to recent guidance released by the Texas Education Agency. School districts can set up sites outside of their schools, including performing arts centers, hotels and recreational centers where they can "ensure equitable access and maintain test security." Currently, Texas requires all districts to allow in-person learning for all students who want it, with few exceptions. Texas has already said students in younger grades who fail required STAAR exams can move up to the next grade. Morath said the data from the tests will show the extent of the educational gaps Texas students have experienced during a devastating pandemic.

It will also continue work on an existing testing contract through August. The two companies will take over from Educational Testing Service, or ETS, which has had the bulk of the state's testing contract since 2016. Texas students grades 3-12 take the STAAR assessments, which often determine whether they can graduate or move up to the next grade. Currently, just 20% of Texas students take the STAAR online, many of them students with disabilities and those learning English, according to Cambium's contract. As ETS' contract was set to end in 2019, Texas chose to extend ETS' contract through Aug. 31.

Texas public school students will still take the STAAR test this spring, but the state will not rate schools and districts based on their results, the Texas Education Agency announced Thursday. In normal years, Texas rates its schools and districts on a scale from A through F, based in large part on the scores students receive on the standardized tests. But he said in November that he was reviewing exactly how those student scores would be used to rate schools and districts. Last spring, Texas applied for and received a waiver from the federal government allowing it not to administer the STAAR test. Usually, student scores on the test determine whether high school students can graduate, whether some elementary and middle school students can move on to the next grade, and whether schools can remain open.

But, the TEA and others said the STAAR results would be used as a "diagnostic instrument" as opposed to a tool used to assess all public school districts in the state. It has been widely reported by school districts that the move to online learning has not had good outcomes for many students. TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said TEA was changing course because of the immense demands placed on everyone because of COVID-19. We continue to prioritize the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff in our schools this year, while working to ensure students grow academically." LocalCommunityJournalismI Support Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free.

Texas public school students will still take the STAAR test this spring, but the state will not rate schools and districts based on their results, the Texas Education Agency announced Thursday. In normal years, Texas rates its schools and districts on a scale from A through F, based in large part on the scores students receive on the standardized tests. But he said in November that he was reviewing exactly how those student scores would be used to rate schools and districts. Last spring, Texas applied for and received a waiver from the federal government allowing it not to administer the STAAR test. Usually, student scores on the test determine whether high school students can graduate, whether some elementary and middle school students can move on to the next grade, and whether schools can remain open.

“Absent the STAAR test, you’re not going to have a valid, reliable view of grade-level mastery of student skills,” he said. Last spring, Texas applied for and received a waiver from the federal government allowing it not to administer the STAAR. Texas has already committed to allowing elementary and middle school students who fail the exams this spring to move up to the next grade, with district permission. Usually, student scores on the test determine whether high school students can graduate, whether some elementary and middle school students can move on to the next grade, and whether schools can remain open. The Texas State Teachers Association, which has been calling for a suspension of STAAR testing since June, quickly came out in support of the legislators’ letter.

Texas students will still have to take the STAAR test next year, but fifth and eighth grade students will be able to move on to the next grade even if they fail, Gov. State education officials announced earlier this summer that third through 12th grade students would take the state standardized exams, or STAAR, this upcoming academic year. But Abbott said that next spring, the fifth and eighth grade math and reading exams would only be administered one time, in May. Student scores on the STAAR also determine whether high school students and graduate and whether schools can remain open. In normal circumstances, high school students must pass five subject-specific standardized tests in order to graduate.

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is calling for the state to cancel the upcoming April STAAR test — as more public school districts suspend classes in the wake of heightened concern over coronavirus. State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, sent a letter to the governor Friday asking that “any and all requirements and mandates related to the provision of the 2020 STAAR test” be canceled, since area school districts have “substantially limited” classroom instruction. The federal government is already considering waivers from testing requirements for areas heavily impacted by the COVID-19 disease. "The University is working closely with Tarrant County health officials and assisting in identifying individuals who may have had contact with the individual." The school announced last week it was extending spring break and switching to online classes "until further notice" beginning on March 23.