The STAAR test (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) is the test all students dread having to take. According to Texas Assessment Management System website,The STAAR is the state’s testing program and is based on state curriculum standards in core subjects including reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. It’s not like the regular unit assessments you take in your classes, it’s a test that determines if you go to the next grade, or the classes you have to take the next school year. The STAAR test is a test dreaded by not only by students, but by teachers and the school board, and it’s all for nothing. This test is NOT needed, and in this column I’m going to tell you why.

I have always been so anxious when the word STAAR is used in the classroom. Ever since the first time I had to take the test I get sick and major anxiety because I have to do my best. Now I’m not the best test taker so it is even harder for me to take this super important state test that all the teachers hype up so much and make it sound like this test is the end of my school career. Now that I’ve taken the test for almost 5 years I’m starting to understand how unfair, ridiculous, and to be honest unnecessary this test really is.

Everytime I take the STAAR test I think “what happens if I know all the material but I just get too stressed out?” Well you fail. Doesn’t that sound so unfair to you? Well it is. Taking a test that determines your near future is unfair. We are expected to take a reading test in 4 hours when some people take longer to read a passage and maybe want to read it again to just to know the material well enough to answer the questions. Some people just aren’t good test takers, so when there is so much pressure to pass these tests students get so much more stress. For bad test takers that is the epitome of a nightmare.

According to TexasTribune.org “From 2012 and 2016, that ran test passages through formulas designed to analyze their complexity and found they were generally too challenging for students.” how unfair is that?

Testing higher than the grade level the student is in, it should be illegal. A test that determines whether or not you go to the next grade, and is higher than the expected grade level is completely ridiculous. The math and reading are the tests you are required to pass to move on to the next school year. In my opinion, the two most difficult subjects. Those are the subjects that are 2-3 years above grade level. Math being one of the hardest subjects to understand if you haven’t learned the material, so when a student is expected to pass a test on material that they truly don’t understand, and that material is on a state test that you NEED to pass. Why do they put us through that misery? When they want US to succeed, and they are putting above grade level references is undeniably unfair and ridiculous.

Not only does this test stress out students, it stresses the teachers, school, and even district. The teachers have to work their butts of to try to help the students pass this test. The school has to make sure that the students pass or else the schools “value” goes down. The district will suffer if most of the schools fail. It’s a domino effect. This domino effect is ridiculous because half the students will get major anxiety and maybe not do well, and half won’t even understand 70% of the material. Texas needs to be relieved of this unnecessary and quite ridiculous test. They need to stop stressing out the students and just get rid of the STAAR test.