Latest news with #TexasEssentialKnowledgeandSkills
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Latest STAAR Results Raise Concerns Over Student Performance
(Texas Scorecard) – Newly released results of Texas high school students' End-of-Course assessments for 2025 show 'too many students are still not where they need to be academically,' according to the state agency that oversees public education. The Texas Education Agency released Spring 2025 STAAR End-of-Course assessment results on Tuesday. STAAR is short for State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, standardized testing 'designed to measure the extent to which a student has learned and is able to apply the defined knowledge and skills in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills at each tested grade, subject, and course.' The STAAR EOC assessments measure whether high school students have mastered end-of-course knowledge and skills they need to progress to the next level and graduate ready for college, a career, or the military. The results are 'a key measure of how Texas students are performing' in Algebra I, Biology, English I and II, and U.S. History, according to the TEA. Compared to 2024 results, the percentages of students who 'meet' grade level in Algebra I and Biology increased slightly, while the percentages of students meeting grade level in English and History declined. Overall performance levels remain poor. Subject mastery ranged from a high of 37 percent for U.S. History to a low of just 8 percent for English II. Asian students continued to significantly outperform white, Hispanic, and African-American students in all subjects. 'Texas students and educators continue to work hard to demonstrate academic excellence,' said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. 'At the same time, we also recognize that too many students are still not where they need to be academically.' 'Using a reliable system of assessments, we can continue making progress on the strategies that are most effective in improving student learning and long-term success,' he added. Assessments from 2024 also showed declining scores. The TEA's annual report for the 2023-24 school year showed reading and math scores for 3rd- and 8th-graders dropped 2-3 percentage points from the previous year, with less than half of 3rd-grade students reading at or above grade level—deficiencies that impact students' later school performance. Scores from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as 'The Nation's Report Card,' showed Texas 4th-grade students' reading scores had dropped two points from the previous tests in 2022 and were two points below the national average. Just 28 percent scored as 'proficient' or better in reading. STAAR is unpopular with parents and teachers who say it puts too much pressure on students and forces educators to spend too much time 'teaching to the test.' Proposed legislation to eliminate the high-stakes testing failed to pass during this year's recently concluded legislative session. Parents can view their students' individual STAAR EOC results by visiting their school system's family portal or using the unique access code provided by their child's school. Results for STAAR grades 3–8 assessments will be made publicly available on June 17.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Reforming standardized testing in Texas: a break down of House Bill 221
ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Ahead of the 2025 legislative session, State Representative Brooks Landgraf introduced House Bill 221, which proposed significant reforms to standardized testing in Texas schools. 'House Bill 221 is the bill that I filed in the Texas House of Representatives to scrap the STAAR exam,' Landgraf said. 'It's an unnecessary, overly expensive, high stakes standardized test that's not serving Texas students very well, or taxpayers.' Educators at Ector County ISD said they rely on STAAR data to assess what their students have learned. 'The assessment is made and designed to assess whether students learned the TEKS, which is the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, and just to see their academic performance year-over-year,' said Dr. Robert Trejo, the Executive Director of Accountability and School Improvement at ECISD. 'And, to inform educators what they can focus in in the classroom, year in and year out.' While the STAAR does provide ECISD with data, it does not provide the district with funding. 'Our funding is based off of attendance or ADA – attendance or percentage of students attending our campuses,' said Trejo. 'So, STAAR performance has no yield as far as the funding that we receive from the state.' Rep. Landgraf said other states offer better ways of conducting standardized testing. 'No other state uses STAAR, but there are some very successful models that are used in 27 other states. One being the Iowa Assessments, which are much more accurate than STAAR,' Landgraf said. 'They are more cost effective, and that's why they're used with such great success in many other parts of the country. Normally, I think we do everything better here in Texas, but standardized testing is one area where other states get it right and we don't.' Rep. Landgraf also stated that the STAAR can be a major cause of anxiety in students and teachers. 'It's anxiety not only for the students, but for teachers and parents too,' said Landgraf. 'We put so much pressure on how students as young as third grade perform on this exam…We're not taking the entire education of our students into consideration.' Educators at ECISD said that no matter what happens to the STAAR, they are still going to be dedicated to providing the best opportunities to their students. '…We would look at what assessment is coming out of that, what instrument is coming out of that, and then we still do what we do as educators,' Trejo said. 'And that's dissect the data, and then intervene for students and provide them the best educational opportunities and ensure that they're learning.' Landgraf said House Bill 221 could pass before Memorial Day this spring. The bill would take about a year to implement once passed. 'I think this is also going to be an important part of the debate that is going on right now in the state of Texas with regards to Education Savings Accounts,' said Landgraf. 'Governor Abbott has made ESA's and some other education issues emergency items for the legislative session that we're in right now. So, there is a lot of focus on these issues. I think we can include this as part of the larger discussion of education reforms here in Texas.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
