Texas House sends bill to replace STAAR test to Gov. Abbott

AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Texas House lawmakers gave final approval to a plan to eliminate the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and replace it with a series of shorter exams. House members concurred with amendments made in the Senate, clearing the way for the bill to move to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk.

The bill passed 79 – 47 along party lines. Republicans say the shift to shorter, more-frequent exams with faster results will provide a better way to measure student progress. Democrats raised concerns that more testing adds stress on students.

“We are about to pass a bill that more than triples, in fact it quadruples the amount of tests no required by the state for our kids in public schools,” State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D – Austin said. Hinojosa, a former school board president, has been an outspoken opponent of HB 8.

Supporters of the bill argue it will reduce the amount of stress students feel when taking a test on one day. “This bill provides meaningful change,” State Rep. Brad Buckley, R – Salado, said. Most school districts already do some type of similar testing using private vendors. This new system would allow them the option to use a test made by the state.

What’s the plan?

Here’s a look at what House Bill 8 will do:

• Eliminates the STAAR test.
  • The STAAR test would still be in effect for the next two school years.
• Replaces STAAR with a series of exams.
  • There would be three tests. One in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year that would not begin until the 2027-2028 school year. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is responsible for making the tests.
• The tests are adaptive.
  • Tests would be designed to change depending on how each student answers the questions. The questions are designed to raise and lower two grade levels to see where a student is performing. Results would be returned in 48 hours.
• Establishes the Accountability Advisory Committee
  • Advises the TEA on any rule changes or modifications of standards.
• Bans additional benchmark testing
  • School districts would not be allowed to give their students a test that would prepare them for the end-of-year exam.

The legislature tried to tackle this issue during the regular session earlier in the year. House Bill 4 passed almost unanimously out of the House with a similar plan to HB 8. The difference, Hinojosa pointed out, is the three-test system in HB 4 would be created by a national vendor, as opposed to the test being created by the TEA, which currently makes the STAAR test.

“The way you restore trust is have an outside vendor create the test, not the TEA,” Hinojosa said last month while arguing against the bill.

Buckley said school districts have the choice to use a test from a national vendor for the beginning-of-year and middle-of-year tests, but everyone must take the state-issued end-of-year test. If a school district uses the state-made test for all three, it will cost them nothing.

The results of the tests partially determine the final grade a school district receives from the state. In the current accountability system, the TEA uses STAAR testing results and year-to-year academic growth to help determine grade letters for schools. Buckley said the state will now have data about how individual students progressed from the beginning of the school year to the end.

“We’re going to measure growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, which has never been done before in Texas,” said Buckley. “That is a way we get better achievement and keep conservatorships out of the school districts.”

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R – Houston, sponsored HB 8 in the Senate. He praised the final passage of the legislation Wednesday night, touting how it also restores annual A-F public school accountability ratings.

“What gets measured gets fixed,” Bettencourt wrote in a news release after HB 8 passed the House. “HB 8 measures what matters, student success.”