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STAAR
Amid cries from parents and educators to nix the state-mandated standardized STAAR test given to Texas school children, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has announced instead a redesign planned for the STAAR test beginning with the 2022-2023 school year.
According to TEA communication sent to local school districts at the end of January, the changes are required under 2019’s House Bill (HB) 3906, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature, and confirmed in 2021 by the 87th Texas Legislature’s HB 3261.
The changes, the TEA detailed, “will achieve the goal of more closely aligning the state summative assessment with classroom instruction.”
Among the redesigned components coming to STAAR in 2022 is the “incorporation of cross-curricular passages in reading language arts (RLA) tests so that test questions reference topics students have learned in other classes,” adding in non-multiple-choice questions, eliminating standalone writing tests in grades 4 and 7, adding in “evidence-based writing in all RLA tests to better support the way that reading and writing are taught,” and moving the test to a strictly online application.
As mandated in the redesign, no more than 75% of the assessment can be multiple-choice questions.
Beginning with the end-of-course (EOC) administration in December 2022, all students will be required to test online with the exception of students taking STAAR Alternate 2 and those who qualify for a paper test due to lack of internet availability, special provided accommodations that cannot be modified for an online format or physical limitation that does not allow the student to interact with an online test.