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The official student news site of Coppell High School

Coppell Student Media

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October 26, 2023

STAAR testing requirements under change

Students test in teacher Reagan Richmonds 7th period Geometry class. Photo by Rinu Daniel.
Students test in teacher Reagan Richmond’s 7th period Geometry class. Photo by Rinu Daniel.
Students test in teacher Reagan Richmond's 7th period Geometry class. Photo by Rinu Daniel.
Students test in teacher Reagan Richmond’s 7th period Geometry class. Photo by Rinu Daniel.

By Shivani Burra

Video Producer

After the first round of EOC tests last year, state representatives realized how difficult the testing system was, and the state is changing the way things are done.

Since last summer when the thought of too much testing first became a major talk, the district has been considering applying for waiver to come up with its own testing system since taking 15 tests is difficult to manage.

House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock, introduced a bill that suggested taking down the number of required tests to five – Algebra I, Biology, U.S. History, English II reading and writing – that would spread over three years.

“The bill was passed in the house with about 400 to two, so it is obviously a very popular measure, and there is a lot of parent support and school support; so I think it will pass but it might change at little,” associate principal Michelle Kellen said.

Part of the bill has to do with graduation plans, which would no longer include recommended and distinguished graduations plan but instead a career track for students who want to learn about the specific career they are interested in.

Supporters of the bill said the revisions would enable students not planning to enter college to prepare themselves for skilled jobs in the workforce immediately after graduation.

“There are a bunch of parts to this bill, and I am not sure what all will be changed, but the testing part of the bill is very popular among people,” Kellen said. “For them not to approve it now would be very unpopular and politicians like to please their people. I think it has a strong chance, but it will be interesting to see what it looks like after they officially pass it.”

The testing will probably change retroactively, for sophomores and freshmen who are on the 15 test track, so as long as they pass the five required tests they do not have to take anymore standardized tests.

The whole idea of accountability started about 20 years ago, and it was to hold schools responsible to make sure they were teaching what they should be teaching.

“We spend too much time testing, which takes so much time that could be used for classroom instruction time,” chemistry teacher Kevin Brimage said.

Along with reducing the number of STAAR tests, moving to a national test is also being discussed.

“Having a national test would be so hard. The one thing about education in the United States is that it has always been under state control,” Kellen said. “But many states are moving towards that because of the national standards.”

Many teachers feel that since each state has different standards, comparing students’ results on standardized tests is nearly impossible.

“Having a national test is a very good idea so that we all have the same standards,” Brimage said. “We are currently comparing apples to oranges in regards of the test difficulty [between states], so a national test would let students know how they are doing in comparison to every student in the nation and not just the peers in their state.”

Many students feel taxed with the number of tests they are required to take. Between finals, AP tests and standardized tests at the end of year, it is hard to manage and study for them all.

“If they reduced the number of STAAR tests, I would not feel as stressed as I currently do because of all the tests I have to take,” sophomore Christine Han said. “Between the three AP tests I am taking, the finals and five EOC tests, its feels like all I am doing is testing.”

 

 

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