The Test Of Academic Readiness Or The Staar Test

Following the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, US students have slipped from being ranked 18th in math in 2000 to 27th in 2012, with a similar decline in science and no change in reading. Standardized tests are unfair and discriminatory against non-English speakers and students with special needs [E. (2011, January 01)]. A 2007 national study conducted by the Center for Education policy revealed that since 2001, 44% of school districts had reduced the time spent on science, social studies and the arts by an estimate of 145 minutes per week in order to focus on reading and math while neglecting the other areas of study.

There once was a time when students were enthusiastic about going to school; However, for many Texas students that couldn't be farther from the truth. The Texas state standardized test was once used as a building block for our children's education, accessing their progression ; however this is no longer the case. Now, our children's education is structured around passing the test, not actually learning the academic curriculum. This test not only takes away from our children's education, but places a magnitude of stress on the students , teachers, and administration. So, is State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STARR) really helping our children?

Yes I am, more because of how much more difficult the Texas education system has made it. I remember when my little brothers first took the STAAR. They literally came home crying because they thought they were not smart enough and that they failed the exam. Although they didn’t fail, I feel like this test puts a lot of pressure on them. From what I have read on http://savetxschools.org/ STAAR triples the exit level tests in high schools. Back when TAKS was still in affect its shows that a high school student was required only four exit level tests in order to graduate but with STAAR a students need to pass fifteen of the exit level tests. How is that fair? What if a student doesn’t pass the STAAR? If a student doesn’t pass a single STAAR he or she can be kept from graduating with their class. It is also proven that STAAR can ruin your chances for college admission. Although colleges and universities never request your standardized states test scores, they do look into where you stand (class rank) and GPAs. Believe it or not but if you are off by a single percentage point from your class rank it can make a big difference in your acceptance or denial decision to your dream college or

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, standardized testing has been at the center of attention in the educational system. Several schools and teachers have been forced to drill children on the information they will be tested on. Teachers are forced to demonstrate other important topics in order to teach test material. Similar to majority of tests provided in the school system, standardized test have both pros and cons. Generally speaking, standardized testing is a great way to determine a baseline for a child. As Miller (2016) indicated, tests have a multitude of benefits, which include student enthusiasm, peer learning, self-improvement and retention, transfer of learning, student self-assessment, and teacher instructional guidance. Teachers are able to use the data from the standardized tests to build an entire academic plan around the results. Additionally, students and parents are able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each child in order to determine the next steps needed to help bridge any gaps within their academic studies.

The problem with STAAR testing is the enormous pressure it puts on Texas students and teachers. With STAAR testing, it affects everything with students from preceding to the next grade level, attending college and eventually their futures career choices. STAAR testing affects Texas teachers as well. For Texas teachers and STAAR testing, starting January 2016 a new elevation system will base 20% of students’ scores towards teachers’ livelihoods, reputations, pay, promotions and even determining if they get to keep their job for another year. TEA will then take these teacher elevations and determine if schools will receive funding for the coming school year. With one test putting so much pressure on students and teachers, we continue to see

Texas takes the STAAR, Alabama the ARMT, and Hawaii the HSA. Each state in the U.S. has a standardized test required of every student. From the ACT and SAT to the STAAR tests, standardized testing has become common practice for almost every student. The earliest records of standardized testing are when in China, anyone wanting to get a job in government had to fill out their knowledge of Confucian philosophy and poetry in examination. As more and more kids began to go to school during the Industrial Revolution, standardized testing spread as a way to quickly and easily test a large number of students. But not everyone agrees with the tests, stating that they are unreliable, and that the stakes are too high. Standardized tests cause immense amount of stress for not only students, but teachers as well. And the tests might not even be effective, causing more anxiety than it's worth.

Another challenge is how often Texas changes its statewide testing regiments. So far it has changed four times over the past century, TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) was one of the regiments lasting from 1999 to 2011. The system currently in use and that will end by next year is the STARR exam (State of Texas Academic Readiness). The testing regiments change constantly because they do not accurately gauge a students performance. Also the fact that the main goal of the curriculum is religious and ideological control further hinders the academic performance of students. For example,

Overall, we think that we should just get rid of the STAAR completely. We think that if we took small tests throughout the year then we should be able to go to the next grade if we pass, not have to stress about a huge test that determines our future.

Texas contains a lot of issues when it comes to its education policies. The issue that has the most people thinking about and I feel more passionate about when it comes to education is the high-stakes testing in the Texas high schools, middle schools, and even elementary schools. This issue has brought plenty of attention from students and their parents. The testing situation in Texas has been addressed from time to time, but there hasn’t been a proper solution that keeps the student performance numbers from decreasing in numerous reports. The problem is that Texas education emphasizes the importance of standardized testing - such as the current State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness or STAAR - implemented to

Now a day’s Texas is growing profoundly, but as it cultivates so does its problems. One of the major issues facing Texas today is in the education department. The matter ranges from school funding to standardized testing. Not only are students themselves complaining about the matters at hand but also parents, some teachers, and even state legislature. There have always been five major issues in Texas education; school finance, school choice, expanding pre-kindergarten, school calendar, and testing. Of these issues you could never think of them separately because no matter how hard you try they will, in the end, affect one another.

Also the state assessment is built around the TEKS. The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) is the state’s annual assessment and test reading, science, writing and social studies. The STAAR test is a criterion-referenced test. The STAAR test does not cover all of the subjects or grade levels of the TEKS standards that are set in Texas. Grades 3-8 are tested in reading, math, writing, social studies and science. The state has also adopted end of course assessments for high school students in English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History. Once testing is completed data is collected by the TEA, and posted on its website. Assessment results are disaggregated by student backgrounds, district and

Standardized testing can harm students as young as elementary graders who are just starting to get a feel of education. Just this July, it has been announced that there will be 1400 third graders in Arizona who will be held back after failing the Math and Reading AZMerit tests. These are hundreds of students whose confidence are

Standardized exams pose a major burden on students from a very young age. In New York State, state examinations, such as the Regents exams and state tests, are administered to all students from third to twelfth grade and serve as a factor that schools use to decide whether to promote students to the next grade or to permit students to graduate high school (Yearly Testing). Especially crucial are state tests administered to fourth and seventh grade students because the test scores determine their qualifications in applying for middle school and high school, respectively. Another important test is the specialized high school admissions test, abbreviated SHSAT, which serves as the gateway to eight of New York City’s elite high

Every spring since 2012, every student attending 3rd grade through 8th grade and high school students across The State of Texas, sit down and takes the Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness or The STAAR Test. The STAAR test is what student’s in Texas are taught about from the first time they enter their new classrooms, each year and what their teachers are required to teach. The STAAR tests in Texas decide student’s assessment of where they are to the core curriculum standards basically an Assessment of Academic level to what they learned all year. With the way our students are being taught in Texas is a problem, STAAR testing not only follows them through their next grade levels, but their academic careers, even into college and eventually their careers, with that and the amount of pressure and stress being put on Texas children, from one test, the bar is being raised too high for our children in Texas. As well as the way it is affecting our teachers in Texas. STAAR testing scores are held against Texas teachers keeping their jobs every year. It affects our children’s school’s funding, with teachers evaluates based on test scores and school’s waiting for score results for funding, our children are being thrown in the middle of it, is this the future and education we want for our children, our student’s and the schools they attend in Texas?

The “No Child Left Behind Act” expired on September 30, 2007, and was replaced by the “Every Student Succeeds Act”. This has been widely criticized by educational professionals because there are no funds to implement the law, the testing requirement is too time-consuming, and the test does take into account the diverse skills of students. Although these standardized tests known as STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) formally TAKS, (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) have given educators and officials data and analyses on performances of students, the problem is there is no knowledge on how to use the