Senate Bill 8 Written Testimony of Max Rombado

Raise Your Hand Texas submitted the following written testimony to the Texas Senate Committee on Education K-16 on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. Raise Your Hand Texas will continue to keep the public informed through written and invited/public testimony on the issues related to public education in Texas.

Written Testimony of Max Rombado

Legislative Director

Raise Your Hand Texas

Before the Texas Senate Committee on Education K-16

The Honorable Brandon Creighton, Chair

Senate Bill 8 by Senator Paul Bettencourt: On

Key Points:

• Raise Your Hand Texas believes the current A-F school accountability system should not rely solely on one test, particularly since STAAR does not fully reflect what students should know, what schools provide, or what the state invests in.
• We support reforming the system to replace STAAR with nationally norm-referenced assessments and include broader measures of student learning, which is essential to truly “measure what matters.”
• We support expanding non-test-based accountability indicators in grades K-8, capping the influence of assessments to no more than 40% in grades 9-12, and reducing the number of assessments to align with federal testing requirements. 

Testimony:

Texas has long been a national leader in school accountability reform, and with that leadership comes a responsibility to set a higher standard — one that reflects the true quality and complexity of our public schools. Under the current A-F accountability system, the letter grades assigned to campuses and districts are determined almost entirely by student performance on the STAAR exam. For elementary and middle schools, STAAR is the sole factor driving these ratings. Yet this single test provides only a limited, one-day snapshot of student performance — and fails to capture the full range of learning, services, and support that our schools provide. 

In 2022, Raise Your Hand Texas established the Measure What Matters Assessment and Accountability Council, bringing together leading education experts, researchers, policymakers, and community leaders from across the state. The council met multiple times throughout the year, examining a wide body of research and data while grounding its work in the lived experiences of Texans. Through individual conversations, small group discussions, and surveys, Raise Your Hand Texas engaged more than 15,600 people statewide. 

What we heard from Texans was clear and consistent:

• 83% said public schools should not be graded solely on STAAR results,
• 81% felt STAAR places undue pressure on students and interferes with quality instruction, and 
• 69% said STAAR does not accurately reflect how well students are learning.

For the full report, visit:  Measure What Matters Report.

Thank you for the thoughtful discussion on Senate Bill 8. While the bill takes important steps toward improving assessment and accountability, there are still key areas where meaningful improvements are needed to ensure the system is fair, transparent, and truly supportive of student learning.

• A-F Accountability System Still Heavily Test Weighted: Despite assessment reforms, test results remain the dominant factor in school A-F ratings.
• Whole-Child Measures Are Optional: Student Engagement and Workforced Development indicators aren’t required in ratings, making them easy to ignore and inconsistently applied.
• Lacks National Comparability: It appears the three assessments (beginning-, middle-, and end-of-year) remain state-normed, limiting Texas’ ability to compare growth and proficiency with other states.
• Too Slow to Retire STAAR: The current STAAR system stays in place through 2027–28.
• Growth Model Delayed Until 2033: The shift to a through-year growth model comes far too late to impact accountability this decade.

No True Legislative Approval for Accountability Changes: The requirement to notify state leaders 30 days in advance of indicator or cut score changes falls short of requiring legislative or SBOE approval.