Should we continue taking the STAAR test? I think taking the test has a good purpose, but not all kids think that.

All kids in the state of Texas take this test, more specifically grades 3rd-12th. The test is designed to measure what students are learning in each grade and to see if they are ready to go to the next grade. The goal of this test is to make sure students can be academically successful, says the Texas Assessment Management System.

“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,” also says the Texas Assessment Management System.

Although not all kids enjoy taking the test, we still have to. I think we shouldn’t have to take the test because from my experience, they put a lot of pressure on us and teachers take it very seriously, and some kids can’t handle the pressure. A lot of kids go through a lot of things, therefore they can start overthinking, or they can’t focus while they take the test, and that can cause them to fail, or maybe a student didn’t get enough learning material or one on one attention from their teacher.

Is it really necessary to take a long boring test every year just to see if we can go to the next grade? I think they should make us take the STAAR test every few years to help more kids go to the next grade. The tests aren’t even grade level, so we’re taking a test with a higher skill level that students probably don’t have or learned yet, which is a huge problem in my opinion. If the tests were actually the correct skill level for whatever grade students are in then I think a lot of students would feel more comfortable taking the test.

According to Texas Monthly, Senator José Menéndez of San Antonio thinks the STAAR test is hurting kids. He was quoted, “I believe harm is being done with the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) high-stakes testing. I have asked Texas Education Agency (TEA) commissioner Mike Morath to provide me with feedback on concerns that have been raised by researchers regarding whether the tests are grade-level appropriate.”

The test also takes out leaning time. For the test we have four hours, which is a very long time, and that’s a whole day at school that students could be learning new material. I don’t get why we have to sit there for four hours, why can’t we get brain breaks and be able to have a snack in between. Most people probably don’t like sitting in an uncomfortable desk for that long, because I know I hate it. I personally think taking the test isn’t the best idea because of how many students do bad on it in general and because of all its cons.