Texas House approves bill to replace STAAR tests with shorter assessments.
AUSTIN, Texas — Big changes could be on the horizon for how students are tested in Texas, as House Bill 4 moves to the senate.
On Monday, the Texas House gave near-unanimous initial approval to a bill that would replace the STAAR test in the next school year.
The Texas Education Agency has been using STAAR test results since the 2011-12 school year to grade schools. But many parents and teachers believe those scores don’t reflect all of the ways schools serve kids, nor do they believe the tests cover everything students should learn.
The only Texas representative that voted against House Bill 4 on Monday, was Rep. Brian Harrison of Ellis County.
House Bill 4 would do away with the STAAR test, replacing it with three shorter tests, taken at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.
“I think, you know, any steps to move away from star testing is certainly moving in the right direction,” said Melina Espiritu-Azocar, president of Northside AFT. “I mean, for far too long, the state has penalized school districts, teachers, students, on data that that is unreliable at best at times and doesn’t really capture the full picture of what students are learning, in their in their classrooms with their teachers.”
While Espirtu-Azocar would like House Bill 4, Jose Macias Jr., a school board trustee for Judson ISD is anxious about the bill.
“We can’t go without star tests or some sort of a standardized assessment,” he said. “How would you evaluate how teachers are teaching in the classroom? How will we know students are learning? There has to be something. But I’m optimistic, as this goes through the Senate, that this will be revised, revamped in a way that is even more impactful.”
The bill on Tuesday, passed its final House vote, now moving to the senate.