This spring Texas students will still take the STAAR test, but schools and districts will not be rated on the results. Anne Wicks, the Anne Kimball Johnson Education Reform Initiative Director, explains what this means for students, schools, and parents.
This spring Texas students will still take the STAAR test, but schools and districts will not be rated on the results.
STAAR testing data helps parents, teachers, and school districts understand how kids are doing in a given school year. Are they understanding the information being taught to them? Are they meeting the objectives?
This year it’s especially important that the STAAR test be administered and the data examined closely. It will help districts understand what learning loss may have occurred due to COVID. It will also provide the state an apples to apples understanding of how each district is doing.
In normal years, schools and districts are rated on an A-F scale, in part on STAAR test results. These ratings allow the state to see where districts are struggling and serve students equitably.
Anne Wicks, the Ann Kimball Johnson Education Reform Initiative Director, explains why it’s OK to pause this grading system for the year. She also outlines why the state should not abandon the system in the years to come.
