Texas Policy Research Opposes Bill Eliminating STAAR Test

As Republicans move to pass a bill that would eliminate the STAAR exam, organizations like Texas Policy Research are warning against its passage, suggesting it may do more harm than good.

Senate Bill 8, a bill that would eliminate the STAAR exam would replace the controversial high stakes standardized test with a triannual “instructionally supportive” assessment model.

The bill’s goal is to reduce reliance on a single high-stakes exam, which has drawn praise from Republicans. However, Texas Policy Research argues that SB 8 expands state control at the expense of local authority and individual freedom. The argument is that the bill shifts rulemaking power from the elected State Board of Education to the unelected Commissioner of Education, granting the Texas Education Agency (TEA) broad authority to impose interventions even considering that accountability ratings are under legal challenge.

The bill would ensure that U.S. students are tested three times a year, once at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. This has raised concerns regarding instructional time loss and increased student stress.

Texas Policy Research claims that parents would have no option to opt out, and local districts would have little control over how the tests are administered. As such, critics believe that the new structure simply replaces one inflexible system with another.

SB 8 passed unanimously out of the Senate Education Committee, and it will soon head to the Senate Floor.

State Senator Angela Paxton (R) voted in favor of the bill this week, and Lynn Boswell, the President of the Austin ISD Board of Trustees, believes that the new system could be beneficial.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity here,” Boswell said. She believes that the system should be “instructionally useful,” which would give teachers the opportunity to adjust their teaching methods based on student results.