Lawmakers to consider bill that reduces the number of STAAR tests,

A Central Texas lawmaker has filed a bill that would scale back the number of state standardized tests, including social studies and writing.

More than two dozen lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have signed on as co-authors of House Bill 1333, filed by Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs. The bill was heard in the House Public Education Committee on Tuesday.

The main purpose of the bill is to reduce the number of State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness to what is required by federal law. By reducing the costs of administering the test, the state could save $1.8 million over the next two years, according to the Legislative Budget Board.

“Financial cost is not the only problem. Students and educators are stressed and rightfully so. Preparing and taking the 22 STAAR exams required by state law steals valuable classroom time from the children we are preparing to become the next leaders of our state and nation,” Isaac said.

The main provisions of HB 1333 are:

Reducing the current amount of STAAR tests from 22 to 17.

Allowing school districts to choose another assessment besides the STAAR as long as it complies with the state’s curriculum standards.

Prohibiting tying teacher evaluations to students’ STAAR performance.

Reducing the weight of STAAR scores on a school’s accountability ratings from the state each year, from 55 percent to 25 percent.

Critics have long considered the STAAR test too difficult for students, prompting the state throughout the years to scale back requirements or postpone implementation of certain grading parameters.

Those in favor of the bill, including some teachers and minority advocacy groups, told committee members on Tuesday that students, particularly those who have learning disabilities, test anxiety and are English learners, shouldn’t have their abilities boiled down to how they perform on a single test.

David Hinojosa with the Texas Latino Education Coalition said that the bill would encourage teachers to stop teaching to the test.

“HB 1333 goes a long way to demystify the notion that if you test them they will learn and if don’t test them … they won’t be taught in the classroom,” Hinojosa said.

Among those who spoke in opposition of the bill on Tuesday were teachers, including one who used to grade STAAR tests and said that the writing standards were too low.

Stefanie Garcia, a North Texas teacher, said that the STAAR test is one of the main ways that teachers find out if a student has a learning disability or other challenges with learning content. It also keeps teachers accountable for their students’ performance.

“Every time we weaken accountability, we remove one more response to intervention that could’ve made a lifetime of difference for that student, desperately hiding in those back rows of our Texas school rooms,” Garcia said.

The committee on Monday advanced House Bill 515 filed by Rep. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, which would also reduce the STAAR tests to federal minimum requirements.