SAN ANTONIO — A state senator is trying to put a stop to the STAAR test this year.
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam was canceled back in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. But, it made a return last year.
Texas measures grade-level readiness using the STAAR exam.
State Senator Jose Menendez said the recent surge of COVID-19 cases is making staff shortages even worse.
He said students and teachers are now dealing with mental health emergencies, and the scores students get this year could hurt students, and the school.
The Texas Education Agency reported with last year's STAAR test results showed student performance dropped across the board, especially in reading and math.
Federal standards show seven out of 10 Texas 4th grade students were not “National Assessment of Educational Progress proficient” in reading.
The national researchers tested 7,400 Texas 4th grade school children in reading. The same year as the national report, TEA records showed 43% of fourth graders “meets” or “masters” grade-level reading, leaving 57% that either did not meet readiness or approached it without meeting or mastering the level.
In other words, while seven out of 10 Texas 4th graders do not meet NAEP Proficiency, six out of ten Texas 4th graders did not meet grade-level readiness or approached it without meeting or mastering the grade level.
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