STAAR focuses on end-of-course exams
Conroe Independent School District is ready for the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness tests that will take place in March and April, but not without a few fears and reservations.
“A new type of assessment takes a few years to see how the game is played,” said Deputy Superintendent Chris Hines. “But even though change is hard, we are blessed with an outstanding teaching staff that helps us [to] be prepared for any new challenge.”
STAAR vs. TAKS
STAAR replaces the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. Though mandated in 2007, a transition plan to STAAR was not available until late 2010.
Testing at the elementary and junior high levels will be similar to TAKS, but high school assessments have been replaced with 12 end-of-course exams in the subjects in which the student is enrolled that year — such as English, algebra, science and social studies.
STAAR is expected to show student progress in a wider range and with more detail than TAKS, Hines said. That, in turn, will allow the district to better target where curriculum is succeeding and where it is failing.
In addition, Hines is eager to see how the high school testing will work out, not only because the tests will be administered before teachers have completed their projected course schedule, but also because the state has mandated that the tests be used as 15 percent of the student’s overall grade.
“We’ve tried to get on the front end by making sure curriculum is aligned with the state’s curriculum, which has improved the rigor of our own testing,” Hines said. “We are working on how to integrate that into our grading system, which has typically been handled at the local level.”
Parent concerns
Pam Sweebe, who has a sophomore at The University of Texas and a 12-year-old in junior high school in The Woodlands, said each of her daughters had different experiences with the standardized testing.
Between her two daughters, Sweebe has been through TAKS and its predecessor, Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. She sees the tests measuring where students stand at the point of the test versus what was taught and what will come.
Because of that, she doesn’t anticipate the introduction of STAAR affecting her 12-year-old’s education.
“There are still benchmark years where they have to achieve a certain score in order to advance to the next grade level,” hSweebe said.
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