Texas recently released A-F ratings. They largely rely on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) scores. They measure student performance in a few subjects and take place a few days each year. The results have huge implications for schools and their districts. Yet several factors show this assessment is not fair or able to paint the full picture of a child’s learning.

One main factor is that STAAR is a high-stakes, high-pressure test. Students feel nervous energy the moment they walk through their school’s doors on these designated testing days. Educators have felt the pressure all Spring semester. At such a young age, students are still learning to build resilience and develop good learning habits. Placing them in such a high-stakes pressure environment in 3^rd grade sets them up for quick-fix learning habits.

This is because many students in 3rd grade and onward likely took a mock STAAR test sometime in February, which educators across Texas used to create learning plans that lead to these dreadful days in April. The pressure of high-stakes standardized tests creates classroom environments that focus on test-centric instruction to improve scores. Test preparation takes away from authentic learning that could be happening in schools. Schools spend significant instructional time on test preparation. Under pressure to raise test scores, school and district leaders spend money on test-preparation materials rather than on other school needs, such as arts and library books. This includes workbooks or software that mimics the actual test. Authentic learning that connects to students’ lived experiences gets ignored to make time for test preparation. This often includes novel studies, collaborative group projects using authentic texts, and reader’s theater.

Students most affected are those from low socioeconomic backgrounds who, for various reasons, do not always perform well on this high-stakes test. It does not mean that they did not learn. It does not mean that they did not meet growth measures in other, more individualized assessments. It does not mean their teachers did not provide opportunities conducive to risk-taking and rigorous learning. Some factors include same-day situations like a stressful morning at home, rushing through free breakfast at school, not getting enough sleep the night before, etc. Sometimes students also don’t buy into the test itself.

This is not to say that there are no learning gaps. This is to say that assessments like STAAR should not be the only measure.

More important than test scores to getting through school successfully is what the school does to help students build healthy work habits and support their social-emotional growth—the whole-child approach to the school experience.

Yet STAAR  results carry all the power, no matter what other, more effective assessments were administered, including rubric-based assessments, learning portfolios, research projects, etc. For students of low socioeconomic status, it often means their schools get a negative label that comes with negative repercussions instead of more supports for the educators within those buildings.

With this snapshot state assessment, the state can take over school districts and diminish the power of locally elected representatives.

The aftermath of these hostile takeovers has had and will continue to have adverse effects. This school year, Houston ISD reassigned 5,000 special education students to new campuses. Their learning trajectory was interrupted even as parents expressed genuine concern. The takeovers have led many educators to leave their schools, districts, and at times the field altogether. Constant leadership changes take away from schools being safe, structured places for students to thrive. Plus, educators in these schools lose their sense of stability and experience increased anxiety about what changes the next leadership will bring. In Houston ISD, this 26-27 school year has started with at least 54 new principals, several of whom are joining other districts under a takeover. Fort Worth ISD saw similar numbers.

You can be accountable to student learning without using STAAR as the only means.

My Take & What The Research Says:

In my research, I spent a lot of time exploring deficit thinking in society that stems from high-stakes testing results. In districts under a takeover due to STAAR, this is the idea that district leaders develop a deficit perception of lower-rated schools. They may come to see those inside the school as the problem. They come in as saviors with ready-made plans that don’t consider the school’s story or needs. They create models like Elevate in Fort Worth ISD that force people in the schools to resign or reapply. After all, they may be part of the problem themselves. So instead of investing money in these schools with the educators already there to make a difference and students eager to learn, these takeovers have led to dozens of new faces on the designated campuses. They implement rigid routines, scripted lessons, and take away teachers’ autonomy. In other words, the schools that need the most, according to STAAR, are now part of a system that will do more harm than good for students’ learning and overall well-being.

Because of these high-stakes testing results, schools are labeled as at-risk, failing, etc. Several of these schools are predominantly minority students. In a study of takeovers, there was no evidence of academic improvement in Math and Reading—and in another analysis, evidence that takeovers were harmful to learning in Black communities. So then, what is the point?

What if we had an accountability system that was more effective than STAAR? An accountability system that would create a comprehensive profile of a student’s strengths and areas for growth. One where students could track their growth without the fear of the pass/fail context. These assessments already exist. For example, diagnostic assessments such as NWEA MAP Growth and I-Ready give teachers access to individualized learning plans. Project-based performance assessments and rubric-based essays are also available. Teachers can administer these more effective assessments throughout the school year so students can set growth goals without creating fear or anxiety. Clear learning goals empower students to achieve them.

Relying on one high-stakes test like STAAR as the primary measure of student success sets students, especially minority students, on a path where they either “pass” the test regardless of their background and access to opportunities or head into an educational 3^rd-12^th grade world where innovation and problem-solving do not exist. This does not prepare them for the real world, where those principles are, in fact, needed.

With November around the corner, it is time to look at those in leadership positions who support highly monetized high-stakes testing and diminishing local decision-making control of school districts.

*Stay tuned for educational blogs where I share insights from my 15 years in public education, including as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. I also have the added perspective of conducting an educational study for my doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership.

The next post will cover how to measure schools effectively.