AUSTIN (Nexstar) — A plan to remove the unpopular State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) received final approval in the Texas House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon but will likely have to go through more changes in the Senate before going to the governor’s desk.
Both Republicans and Democrats in the Texas House agree the STAAR test is too stressful for students and flawed. However, finding a plan to replace the exam has the two parties split.
What’s the plan?
Here’s a look at what House Bill 8 will do:
Eliminates the STAAR test.
The STAAR test would still be in effect for the next two school years.
Replaces STAAR with a series of exams.
There would be three tests. One in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year that would not begin until the 2027-2028 school year. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is responsible for making the tests.
The tests are adaptive.
Tests would be designed to change depending on how each student answers the questions. The questions are designed to raise and lower two grade levels to see where a student is performing. Results would be returned in 48 hours.
Establishes the Accountability Advisory Committee
Advises the TEA on any rule changes or modifications of standards.
Bans additional benchmark testing
School districts would not be allowed to give their students a test that would prepare them for the end-of-year exam.
Supporters of the bill argue it will reduce the amount of stress students feel when taking a test on one day. “This bill provides meaningful change,” State Rep. Brad Buckley, R – Salado, said. Most school districts already do some type of similar testing using private vendors. This new system would allow them the option to use a test made by the state.
But Democrats counter that the bill actually will add more high-stress, standardized tests for students and teachers. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D – Austin, has been outspoken of HB 8 from the beginning. She claims the way the bill is written will actually increase the length of the end-of-year exam than what they have currently.
Monty Exter, the director of governmental relations for the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), said he is hearing similar concerns from the teachers his organization represents.
“Teachers feel like this is going to increase the amount of state mandated, high-stakes, accountability-aligned testing,” Exter said.
Buckley refutes that claim and said the tests will be concise and straight forward.
The legislature tried to tackle this issue during the regular session earlier in the year. House Bill 4 passed almost unanimously out of the House with a similar plan to HB 8. The difference, Hinojosa pointed out, is the three-test system in HB 4 would be created by a national vendor, as opposed to the test being created by the TEA, which currently makes the STAAR test.
“The way you restore trust is have an outside vendor create the test, not the TEA,” Hinojosa said while arguing against the bill.
Buckley said school districts have the choice to use a test from a national vendor for the beginning-of-year and middle-of-year tests, but everyone must take the state-issued end-of-year test. If a school district uses the state-made test for all three, it will cost them nothing.
The results of the tests partially determine the final grade a school district receives from the state. In the current accountability system, the TEA uses STAAR testing results and year-to-year academic growth to help determine grade letters for schools. Buckley said the state will now have data about how individual students progressed from the beginning of the school year to the end.
“We’re going to measure growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, which has never been done before in Texas,” said Buckley. “That is a way we get better achievement and keep conservatorships out of the school districts.”
During the floor debate lawmakers did come to an agreement on some changes to the bill. One of the amendments, pitched by Hinojosa, reduces the number of standardized tests to the federal requirement. She also got an amendment passed that would take Kindergarten students’ performance out of the accountability measures used to grade schools.
Tracking the bills
The House and Senate both proposed nearly identical bills to replace the STAAR test. After the House amended the final approved product, the differences will need to be ironed out.
The Senate’s plan, Senate Bill 9, is expected to be debated and voted on by senators on Tuesday night. Differences between the two plans will have to be settled in close-door meetings call conference committees.
Once both sides in the committee come to an agreement, both the House and the Senate will vote a final time to officially pass the bill to the governor’s desk.
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