STAAR scores dropped during COVID
Experts warn data from test incomplete
This year’s STAAR test results came with several caveats, missing data and results that reveal largely what had been predicted through other measures. Now, some educators and experts wonder if it was worth administering the tests during a school year upended by the pandemic.
As education leaders parse through State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test scores from the spring, some warn it is incomplete and does not provide a full picture of how students are faring during the pandemic.
Because the standardized achievement tests were optional for the first time this year for grades 3 through 8, more than 1 million fewer tests were taken across all subject areas and grade levels compared to the last time STAAR was administered in 2019. Only 85 percent of eligible elementary students took the test in the spring and 92 percent of eligible high school students participated in end-of-course assessments.
“A million missing tests is pretty glaring,” said Daniel Potter, associate director of regional research for Houston Education Research Consortium at Rice University.
Catherine Horn, chair of the University of Houston’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, said STAAR data already is limited in a normal year.
“Having less information further skews it,” she said. “It's flawed data and it's insufficient.”
The Texas Education Agency, which compiles standardized testing scores for the state, said enough students took the test to paint “an accurate picture of COVID-19’s impact on students.”
The agency previously announced that schools will not be given an accountability rating this year based on the results due to the impact of the pandemic.
The data released by TEA last
month showed that 37 percent of students in grades three through eight did not meet state standards in math, up from 21 percent in 2019, the last time STAAR was administered. The number of students who met state standards in reading fell a modest 4 percent.
Generally speaking, schools with less than 25 percent of students learning virtually fared better than schools with higher rates of remote learning.
“We assumed there would be some decrease (in test scores) that happened over a period of time,” Potter said. “But it’s about understanding which students were disproportionately impacted.”
Knowing the demographics of the students who did not take the test and why they opted out is essential to understanding who will need more support in the upcoming school year, he added.
“Those distinctions are important because they give us critical information about where a student is and how to intervene in the most productive way,” Horn said.
Erin Baumgartner, associate director for Houston ISD research at Houston Education Research Consortium, said that while attendance records generally showed Black and Latino students students continued to learn virtually and white students from more financially secure families returned to campuses, the pattern varied widely across districts.
“There may be an overrepresentation (in the test scores) of students experiencing poverty and inequality,” Potter said. “Conversely, if it turned out that we had more economically disadvantaged students missing from the test, the gap observed may actually be smaller than real disparities out there.”
Another factor that could impact the data is the fact that students were required to take the assessments in-person.
Jonathan Kotinek, a parent of a sixth grader and ninth grader in Montgomery ISD, said he opted his kids out of taking the tests because of health and safety concerns.
“We decided they would take the test once they could be vaccinated,” he said. “It wasn’t worth risking their health over.”
Potter said there likely were many other parents across the state like Kotinek whose children learned remotely all year and did not want to risk their kids contracting or spreading the virus by taking the test in person.
Administering the test in person also could have affected the performance of students who did take it, Horn said.
“The environment and conditions of assessments matter,” she said. “If it’s an unfamiliar classroom, it’s likely to influence performance. Having to keep your mask on while you take the test or being concerned about being around a large number of people for the first time in months could have an impact.”
All of those conditions can influence students’ ability to concentrate on the academic task in front of them, she said.
Because the test was not administered in 2020 due to the disruption of the pandemic, comparisons are more difficult, Potter said.
“That data would allow us to see whether the downward trend was already in motion,” he said. “It would show us the extent of the disruption the early days of the pandemic caused. Without it, we run the risk of over-assigning responsibility to the 20-21 school year for drops and declines.”
Another variable to consider in the testing data is a technical glitch that impacted around 250,000 students in the state while they were taking the test. The glitch caused log-in and test administration problems.
The glitch only impacted students taking grade four and seven writing, as well as English I, according to TEA. Of those students, 96 percent completed the test later that week.
While the STAAR data will help inform how districts target federal relief funds to help struggling students, it is only one of many criteria to be considered.
“We don’t rely solely on STAAR data because it becomes lagging very quickly,” said Todd Davis, chief academic officer at Aldine ISD. “We use other tools, like universal screeners in literacy and math to develop information on how to target those students.”
Measuring the social and emotional needs of students will be the district’s primary focus for providing support, he said.
“We need to understand that many of our students likely experienced significant trauma throughout this pandemic,” he said. “If we’re not providing a safe and secure environment, learning is not going to happen.”
Sherri Simmons, Texas City ISD’s director of curriculum and accountability, said looking at each students’ individual needs will be critical in the fall.
“We need to … identify their strengths and weaknesses, develop plans to address their needs, watch them closely for progress and adapt, change, or tweak as needed to ensure that each student fulfills their learning potential,” she said.
Districts are in the process of finalizing their plans for millions in federal relief funding to target students who fell behind when they return in the fall. Many will offer tutoring and longer school days.
Houston ISD previously announced it would add 15 extra days, beef up tutoring, bolster wrap-around services and hire additional counselors.
Fort Bend ISD has established teacher “support systems” within schools to address students’ academic gaps, emotional needs and trauma experienced during the pandemic. Katy ISD proposed hiring more teachers to reduce class size and giving instructional coaching to teachers, while Spring Branch ISD is planning to extend the school day and year.