HOUSTON — Parents of students currently learning on campus said they don’t have a problem with in-person STAAR testing as long as safety protocols remain in place. But others worry additional bodies may be difficult to manage.
"You may have virtual students that are not as familiar with the protocols coming in and increasing the risk of transmission,” Texas American Federation of Teachers President Zeph Capo said.
Texas AFT has an online letter that more than 3,300 people have sent to the state urging officials to drop the STAAR, or State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test, altogether.
"There’s no reason to add the additional stress, there’s no reason to add the additional numbers, physical numbers in schools, to take this test this year,” Capo said.
The STAAR exam is given to students in grades 3-12.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath considers it an important tool in gauging how well students are learning, especially now.
"It is was it is,” Morath said last week during a meeting of the state board of education.
He said the situation is currently not good when it comes to student achievement.
He said a recent study found the pandemic has caused 3.2 months of learning loss for the average Texas student. That's in addition to what normally happens over the summer.
"It does not bode well for us," Morath said. "It speaks to the very significant challenges that we have and that we will have to address for many years, actually, as a state.”
Morath said he would not seek a waiver from annual standardized tests as some other states have. But the TEA would allow districts to make adjustments in order to, among other things, properly distance test-takers. That includes using off-campus venues if needed.
"There’s certainly a long list of things we could be focusing on that are more important in this pandemic than the STAAR test,” Capo said.
Younger students won’t be held back for failing the STAAR. However, high schoolers receiving remote instruction who do not show up may not be able to graduate.
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