South Texas for Fair Testing

Student safety is more important than an assessment. Priorities need to be reassessed.

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Cambium Assessment and Pearson are currently on a 4-year $388 million contract with Texas to create, distribute, score and report STAAR assessments. Texas spends an additional $90 million each year on STAAR related expenses. Let this sink in…every 4 years, we spend $748 million on a test that teachers, students and parents hate, in order to assess student mastery of the STAAR test. Keep in mind, the STAAR test covers material that’s not entirely part of the Texas Curriculum, so we are scoring how well students did on STAAR, not on their mastery of the TEKS. We then use those scores to decide if students should be promoted, teachers did their jobs adequately and then rate schools based on “student and teacher” performance. Essentially, we have underfunded schools and underpaid teachers, because we throw away almost a billion dollars every 4 years on a meaningless test. Here’s an idea, let’s eliminate STAAR and invest the $748 million back into our public schools and teachers.

Pro-public Education candidates

Our union has made its first round of endorsements for the March 1 primaries, including candidates for state House, state Senate, and the State Board of Education.

Find the full list on our website: https://www.texasaft.org/campaigns/election-2022/2022-endorsements/

With constant teacher shortages and continued interruption for students due to covid, what kind of data do they expect? If they continue with testing during a pandemic, it not only shows the lack of empathy to students and their families; it also shows how they only care about wasting money on a test.

Food for thought.

Standardized test narrow the curriculum and are inefficient at measuring student growth.

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/31/texas-virtual-learning-funds-legislature/?utm_campaign=trib-social&utm_content=1630456202&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

Texas lawmakers send Gov. Greg Abbott a bill that funds virtual learning, but could leave out many students of color The bill would pay for virtual learning until September 2023, but won't fund it for students who have failed their STAAR exams.

VIA Terry Canales
Several people have asked me how I feel about our STAAR Test scores dropping across the state. I think the fact that we forced our teachers and students to prepare and take a standardized test during a pandemic is a travesty. We should be praising our teachers and students, not condemning them or making them feel like they failed. I am proud of my children and our local schools for everything they have done over the past year and a half.

There has been learning loss because of the pandemic. We absolutely have to address it. The STAAR Test was not necessary to prove this. Instead of canceling or reducing our state's reliance on STAAR, we continue to pay more than $90 million a year for testing that most educational experts do not agree is a valid assessment of our student's abilities.

As the father of 5 children, I take children's education seriously. The Texas Education Agency and local school districts are working closely to address these learning gaps that have been created by pandemic. Federal dollars are coming down to local school districts and we will work to ensure that no child gets left behind.

Texas students' standardized test scores dropped dramatically during the pandemic, especially in math The drop was more significant in districts that had most of their instruction online, compared to districts with more in-person classes.

Good news for graduating seniors.

The test should not have been prioritized this year.

Donna and Mercedes ISD lose power on second day of STAAR testing RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (KVEO) — Wednesday’s storms left 36 thousand customers without power, and mid-valley area school districts, like Donna ISD and Mercedes ISD, saw dire impacts on…

Good Morning! Good news!

If the world only knew how stressful state testing is for teachers and students....

https://www.kxan.com/news/education/students-exposed-to-covid-19-during-staar-tests-districts-push-for-in-person-learning/

Taking a test should not be required in the middle of a pandemic. Schools need to demphasize in person testing and let students know about different avenues for graduation. A test score is not worth exposing unvaccinated students.

Students exposed to COVID-19 during STAAR tests; districts push for in-person learning Anderson High School is wrestling with a spike in COVID-19 exposures after positive cases quadrupled during the week STAAR testing began.

When technical issues delayed or canceled the first day of STAAR testing for thousands of Texas students this week, teachers like Patty Young saw it as a sign that the exams shouldn’t be happening in the midst of a pandemic. Listen: https://bit.ly/3t83PWk

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/06/texas-staar-testing/ 38 million dollars of wasted money.

First day of STAAR testing canceled for thousands of students experiencing technical issues across Texas Texas officials mandated that students take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness in person this year at monitored test sites, although millions of students are still learning remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“One exam does not measure everyone’s intellect,” said Senator Jose Menendez, the author of Senate Bill 2058. “We are not saying you get an automatic pass. Someone is going to review your work. Someone is going to review that you did the work. You have to show competence of the subjects.” KXAN News

Watch the full story here: https://bit.ly/3fJIyhL

Texas lawmakers want to remove end-of-course STAAR assessments for graduating seniors A new bill being discussed in the Texas House and Senate would give high school upperclassmen a break on their yearly end-of-course exams: standardized tests which require a passing grade for gradu…

Sometimes, some people are seduced by the idea that being a data driven schools will solve inequities. Testing alone will not solve learning gaps. You need positive learing enviornments that allow for teacher creativity. Sometimes people get misdirected by focusing on a test and narrowing the curriculum. Students need an enviroment that doesn't make a test score the outcome, rather they need to experience a meaningful education that explores the world. Teachers need an work environment that allows them to feel supported and encourages best practice. We need to make learning and adequate funding a priorty not an overprized, punitive, standardized test.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfeJ5BmirCC0NG5wMzLI2l4dtmMKibKdRorZPfsbGpYBhTN8g/viewform?fbclid=IwAR2vCC5L9U3f2pISItyqVPd5CQKYsxUhBj4vx54Kt7LmPTAo0tqnt2Bh8To

This form has hyperlinks to important information that will allow you to make the best choice for your child.

OPT-OUT Sign Up: Houston & Texas 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗔𝗥 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. Your safety during COVID matters and the data won't be valid, reliable or useful. More information at optouttexas.org 𝗧𝗘𝗔 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻....

Can you call a couple members of the House Public Education committee tomorrow about state bills opposing a state takeover bill and supporting a bill that waives part of STAAR for high school kids?

Each call takes a minute. You speak to a kind legislative aide and it is super painless. Read the script and you are done. One call is worth 100 emails. The phone numbers at the bottom.

House Bill 999 (Bernal) would allow high school students impacted by COVID to use the IGC (individual graduation committee) instead of STAAR without first having failed a STAAR exam and would expand IGC to all five high school STAAR EOC exams. Texas is one of only 11 states to require a standardized test to graduate. Read more here.

[HOUSE VERSION]
Hello, my name is _____. I live in ________ and my zip code is ______.
I want the representative to support HB 999 and to oppose HB 3270.
HB 3270 would give TEA the ability to take over any school board cited for poor performance based on a few campus ratings or even based on an investigation. This bill applies to the takeover of ANY school district in the state, not just Houston ISD.
HB 999 would allow high school students impacted by COVID a pathway to graduation without having to take the STAAR.
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House Public Education Committee
Chair, Rep Harold Dutton (D), 512-463-0510
Vice-Chair, Rep J. M. Lozano (R) 512-463-0463
Rep Alma Allen (D), 12-463-0744
Rep Steve Allison (R), 512-463-0686
Rep Keith Bell (R), 512-463-0458
Rep Diego Bernal(D), 512-463-0532
Rep Brad Buckley (R), 512-463-0684
Rep Mary E Gonzalez(D), 512-463-0613
Rep Dan Huberty (R). 512-463-0520
Rep Ken King (R), 512-463-0736
Rep Thresa Meza (D), 512-463-0641
Rep James Talarico (D), 512-463-0670
Rep Gary VanDeaver (R) 512-463-069

Thank you!

"We still think there’s something wrong with the kids rather than recognizing their something wrong with the tests," Ibram X. Kendi of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at Boston University and author of How to be an Antiracist said in October 2020. "Standardized tests have become the most effective racist weapon ever devised to objectively degrade Black and Brown minds and legally exclude their bodies from prestigious schools."

The Racist Beginnings of Standardized Testing | NEA From grade school to college, students of color have suffered from the effects of biased testing.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/03/25/will-texas-seniors-who-failed-staar-tests-be-able-to-graduate-on-time-during-the-pandemic-lawmakers-debate-options-that-could-allow-them-to-walk/

"Students shouldn’t be penalized because of the exceptional circumstances they are learning in, Bernal said during the bill’s hearing. The bill would strip high stakes from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, exams for the current school year, he said."

Will Texas seniors who failed STAAR tests be able to graduate on time during the pandemic? Lawmakers debate options that could allow them to walk One temporary alternate path allowed more than 58,000 Texas students to graduate in recent years.

https://texasscorecard.com/state/legislation-would-allow-schools-to-opt-out-of-staar-tests/

“Our school children need to have access to the very best education possible,” Slaton said, defending his proposal, House Bill 4198. “That’s why we need to end these horrible standardized tests for those schools who find that they are detrimental to their children’s education.”

His proposal would also require parents to be notified of their school district’s exemption from STAAR testing, and make sure students in said districts still receive high school diplomas.

Legislation Would Allow Schools to Opt Out of STAAR Tests | Texas Scorecard The bill may enjoy substantial public support with many disapproving with the state's standardized test.

https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/cancel-standardized-tests-during-covid-19?ms=social
The United States Department of Education needs to act on this. Please sign and share freely.

Cancel Standardized Tests During COVID-19 We're calling on the U.S. Department of Education and state governments to think beyond the bubble and stop high-stakes testing during the pandemic.

https://www.change.org/p/greg-abbott-cancel-the-staar-test-for-the-2020-2021-school-year?redirect=false

Please sign the petition. Take a moment to read through the comments. Students are not looking forward to testing in person.

Sign the Petition Cancel the STAAR test for the 2020/2021 school year

Several teacher organizations are not in favor of STAAR testing in person for this year. They recognize the number of interruptions that have occurred in this school year and they know it's unfair to ask communities with high infection rates to test in person.

Please consider signing some petitions. I'll be posting several.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/drop-the-staar?source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0tAEDjaFDpQMNGBxT6F2zHsbIU20cscyp7kWi0ab2wC4WrB5qg5VygjTE

Demand Mike Morath drop the STAAR! If Mike Morath and the TEA chose to suspend the STAAR test 10 months ago as the pandemic first took hold, it would be inconsistent not to waive high-stakes standardized testing once more, with the situation far worse. If the well-being of our students, educators, and schools is truly a priority, tha...

https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/covid/FAQs-for-Spring-2021-Assessments.pdf

DID YOU KNOW?
-Students can remain virtual on the STAAR test day.
-STAAR test will not be used for grade promotion. (The student will move to the next grade without negative consequences)
-There is no A-F rating this year.
-Schools are required to offer the test to all students and encourage them to test in person. That will look very different from the 95 % participation that TEA is used to seeing in other years.
-High School graduation requirements have not been waived.
-For students 9-11 grade it's one less opportunity to test before graduation.
-Students can test in Summer, December, or Spring before their graduation.
-It's a local decision whether students are placed in "accelerated"/ "remediation" courses
-Placement of accelerated courses can be based on benchmarks, teacher tests, or other local assessments. Talk to your school board members.
-Seniors can test in person or go through an Individual Graduation Committee (IGC). See your school for more details.
-Some seniors can use replacement tests to meet graduation requirements.

tea.texas.gov

Please join us on a zoom call to find out what your options are as a parent. Click on the link to register.

https://actionnetwork.org/events/parent-options-for-staar-testing?source=direct_link&

https://www.kxan.com/news/education/survey-97-of-texas-teachers-students-parents-oppose-staar-testing-this-year/?fbclid=IwAR3HTAChGnHh6ViiMqYHfZwMpmSyMXhvUCV8mWqS-luTSRhUS72ZttGEp1k

Now is a good time to rethink standardized tests.

Survey: 97% of Texas teachers, students, parents oppose STAAR testing this year A statewide survey of students, teachers and parents in Texas found 97% of respondents oppose the state’s decision to administer the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, commonly…

STAAR: Undue stress and Misplaced priorities

The state spends $100 million each year to give the STAAR test. Meanwhile, our teachers buy their own school supplies. How does that math add up?

During the middle of a global pandemic, it makes no sense that the focus at the end of the academic year is a standardized test. "Fund Our Future" Not the STAAR!!!
PC: Edinburg AFT