Assessment & Accountability
Texas public schools should be held to appropriate standards of quality through comprehensive assessment and accountability systems that accurately reflect academic performance and other measures of student progress. Raise Your Hand Texas supports real-time assessments that inform instruction, measure individual progress, and serve as one of multiple measures reflecting a student’s entire educational experience.
An overemphasis on standardized testing puts too much pressure on students and teachers, and does not account for all that goes into what makes a good school.
In 2023, when the STAAR test launches a redesign of the assessment, it is an opportunity to reflect on just how much weight is given to one test on one day in our accountability system. Our elementary and middle schools are rated solely on how students perform on the STAAR test. Our high school students must pass five STAAR End of Course exams in order to graduate: Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History. Placing so much weight on these exams puts an enormous amount of pressure on our students to perform well, and on our teachers to make sure our students are prepared.
Raise Your Hand Texas believes standardized testing should inform instruction in the classroom and not be a major, or the only factor, in determining how our students and schools are performing. Adding indicators that provide a more accurate depiction of life in our schools – from academic achievement, extracurricular activities, enrichment programs, social emotional learning, and more – will give parents a better understanding of what is taking place and working well in their child’s school.
Where We Stand
2023 Assessment & Accountability Legislative Priorities
Too much emphasis is placed on the results of the STAAR test. From requirements for graduation to being the only measurement tool to assess our elementary and middle schools, it is time to Measure What Matters. Our students are more than one test on one day, and our schools do more than administer standardized tests. The A-F accountability system used by the TEA needs to take more into account and include factors beyond STAAR test scores.
