Gov. Greg Abbott has directed state lawmakers to come up with a replacement for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test as part of the special session that starts July 21. But it's an open question how well that will address the problems critics have with the way standardized tests are used in Texas.
In his proclamation for the special legislative session, Abbott called for legislation "to eliminate the STAAR test and replace it with effective tools to assess student progress and ensure school district accountability."
Duncan Klussmann, the former superintendent of Spring Branch ISD and a professor at the University of Houston's College of Education, said critics of the STAAR test should be careful about what they wish for.
"I know, to many parents and many folks in the community, it sounds like, ‘Yes, let's get rid of the STAAR test,' but we really don't know what that means at this point," Klussmann said. "I don't think there's any chance in Texas we're doing away with testing. I don't think there's any chance we're doing away with high-stakes testing."
STAAR test results play a critical role in the annual grades schools themselves receive from the Texas Education Agency. As Houston ISD learned, that can make the difference between remaining independent and being taken over by the state.
The district’s elected trustees and the superintendent they hired were replaced by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath in June 2023, because Wheatley High School received a string of failing accountability ratings, triggering a state law that forced Morath to either close the school or take control of the entire district.
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"It's often more not the test itself, but it's often how they use the information and how they use the information in punitive ways towards school districts. That tends to be what people object to more than the test itself," Klussmann said." But the STAAR test gets the blame, because it's the test that's given."
Klussmann said ending the STAAR test wouldn't mean the end of standardized testing itself in Texas, and that even if the STAAR test is eliminated, it would likely be slowly phased out rather than being replaced overnight.
"My thought is there'd be a transition time," he said. "They would continue giving the STAAR test the way they are. They would continue with the current accountability system, and then basically take two to four years to develop a new assessment and then implement it at some point."
The governor's directive on the STAAR test comes as part of a packed special session agenda that also includes flood recovery and disaster prevention, congressional redistricting and regulating hemp-derived products containing THC.
"Usually special sessions are very narrow," Klussmann said. "It's a very different call of a session, almost just feels like an extension of the regular session. Usually, when they call a special session, it's for one or two items that they want to focus on that they didn't get completed in the regular session."
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