Why STAAR matters: Keeping Texas students on track
This week, the Texas Education Agency released the results of the five End-of-Course exams that Texas students took this spring in key high school courses — Algebra I, Biology, English I and II, and U.S. History.
Next week, Texas families will receive the results for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, widely known as STAAR, for grades 3–8. These moments often renew conversations about the role of standardized testing in our schools: how much we test, how useful the data is, and what the true purpose of these assessments should be.
Texas’ statewide assessment system is more than a test. It is a tool that helps determine whether students are mastering the skills and knowledge defined in our state standards. In a state as large and diverse as Texas, consistent and comparable data is essential to make sure every student, in every school, is on track for long-term success.
The Role of Statewide Assessments in Texas
Texas has developed a robust assessment system based on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS. These standards define what students should learn at each grade level, and the assessments provide a way to measure that learning consistently.
- Comparability Across the State: STAAR allows for consistent comparisons of student performance across districts, helping identify where support is most needed.
- Transparency for Families and the Public: While local grades and assessments vary, STAAR provides a statewide benchmark to evaluate whether students are meeting expectations.
📘 Did You Know?
Most students in Texas bring home A’s and B’s on their report cards, even when they are not performing at grade level on state assessments. This disconnect can leave parents with a false sense of security about their child’s progress and delay students receiving needed intervention and supports.
According to research from Learning Heroes, nearly eight in 10 parents say their child is getting mostly B’s or better on their report cards and nearly nine in 10 parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level in reading and math. In reality, many students are struggling to meet state standards.
This is why a consistent, statewide assessment like STAAR is essential. It gives families an objective, standards-based measure of whether their child is truly on track.
The Importance of Summative Assessments
STAAR is a summative assessment, meaning it measures what students know at the end of the school year. While it cannot capture every aspect of learning, it offers key insights that help improve the education system as a whole.
- Spotting Trends, Gaps and Brightspots: This data highlights where students are struggling across subjects, grade levels and student groups as well as highlights schools’ increasing outcomes for students over time.
- Supporting Resource Allocation: State leaders use these results to guide investments in curriculum, teacher support and targeted interventions.
- Driving Long-Term Improvement: With consistent data over time, STAAR helps evaluate the impact of instructional changes and education policy.
Why Criterion-Referenced Testing Matters
During the most recent legislative session, some policymakers discussed the idea of using only norm-referenced tests. These tests measure achievement and rank students by comparing them to their peers. However, they do not show whether a student has actually mastered grade-level material and state learning expectations.
Texas has made a different choice by sticking with a single statewide, criterion-referenced assessment. These tests measure student learning against clearly defined academic standards.
- Clarity for Families and Educators: Criterion-referenced tests help answer the question, “Is this student on grade level?” rather than simply “How did this student do compared to others?”
- Gives Every Student the Ability to Succeed: Criterion-referenced assessments measure whether each student has mastered the TEKS — so every student can succeed based on what’s taught, not how others perform.
- Consistency in Expectations: With a single statewide assessment, all students in Texas are held to the same academic standards, regardless of where they live or attend school. This ensures fairness and high expectations statewide.
Looking Ahead
As results are released, the focus should go beyond this year’s numbers alone. Instead, the conversation should center on what the data tells us about student learning, school improvement and future readiness.
STAAR plays a critical role in identifying whether students are on a path toward success in high school and beyond. When used effectively, these assessments support early interventions and long-term planning. They are a key part of ensuring that all Texas students are prepared for college, careers and life after graduation. A consistent, statewide assessment system gives Texas the data it needs to build that future.