STAAR Special Report 2: Teacher Concerns And Classroom Preparations
Big changes ahead for Texas public education system are not slowing down students in a science classroom at Rio Bravo Middle School in the Yselta Independent School District.
“We’ve heard the STAAR is a lot harder than the TAKS,” said eighth-grader Ariana Solis. “I’m a little nervous, but I’m confident I’ll pass it,” she said.
Solis was referring to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, which is replacing the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills for students in third through ninth grades.
High-schoolers who are not freshmen will get to graduate under the old TAKS system, which the Texas Education Agency said is not as rigorous as the STAAR.
In the new test, students will be required to write an extra essay. The STAAR’s questions require more critical analysis skills and feature fewer multiple-choice questions, according to the TEA.
“(STAAR’s) questions require a multistep process to arrive at the solution rather than, ‘Can you name the capital of Texas?'” said Socorro Independent School District Superintendent Xavier De La Torre.
The TAKS had no time limit, whereas students must finish STAAR exams within four hours unless they qualify for an exception.
Another new feature is the End Of Course exams, or EOCs, for high-schoolers. Under the TAKS, high-schoolers only had to pass one 11th-grade exit-level exam covering four subjects — English, math, science, and social studies — to get a diploma. The STAAR generation will have pass 12 course-based tests — English 1 (reading and writing), English 2 (reading and writing), English 3 (reading and writing), Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, World Geography, U.S. History and World History.
The EOCs are expected to count toward 15 percent of a student’s final class grade on the subject tested. The TEA recently deferred that requirement after some public outcry, but only for this year’s freshman class.
Some teachers have expressed concerns over the new test because of a lack of available preparation materials. The TEA has only released sample questions online so far.
“It makes it very difficult for teachers to prepare,” said Norma De La Rosa, the president of the El Paso Teachers Association. “Of course, teachers are stressed out by the new STAAR test.”
“(It’s like) we’re going into (the new test) blind,” said De La Rosa.
De La Rosa said she wished Texas educators and lawmakers would consider other forms of assessment besides standardized tests, which she said do not always measure student growth.
“We have no idea what the test looks like. All we know is the rigor of the test has changed. It’s going to be a much more difficult test,” said De La Rosa.
So, how do educators go about crafting STAAR-ready lesson plans with limited information?
“Most of (SISD’s) investment has been in people, not programs,” said De La Torre. “When you get better adults in the system that perform at a higher level, then the students will perform at a higher level.”
Back at YISD, ABC-7 sat in on teacher Robbie Carrizales’ eighth-grade science class to see how students are preparing for the tougher standards.
“I think they’ll be fine. We’ve really been preparing them,” said Carrizales.
Students were working on a hands-on lab about air currents. Carrizales said those kinds of STAAR-inspired elements in his curriculum “really provide students with that higher-order thinking (they need for the STAAR).”
Carrizales said he has also been using mock STAAR tests to prepare his students.
“They’ve been able to do the test and complete it within the allotted time. We’re hoping with these practices to just get their timing down better,” he said.
ABC-7 asked four borderland school districts the same series of questions regarding the STAAR. Click below to see their responses to these questions. Please note some of these responses were given before the 15 percent grade requirement was waived by the TEA. Also note every district was asked the following five questions in the same way. Some questions were not answered, and ABC-7 did not edit any of the school districts’ responses in any way.
1. How is (your district) preparing for the new STAAR test?
2. Are there any concerns about the new STAAR test?
3. Have there been any special purchases by the district specifically meant to prepare students for the STAAR test (including but not limited to consultant services for teachers, books, computer software, etc.)?
4. If so, could you list those purchases and the cost?
5. Have budget cuts affected the way the school district prepares for standardized tests like the STAAR?
Related Links:El Paso ISD Response To STAAR Questions
Ysleta ISD Response To STAAR Questions
