PV: Why the STAAR Test is Unnecessary
May 29, 2019
The STAAR test is the states testing program based on core classes such as, language arts, math. Social studies, and science. All public school students in Texas, grades 3–12, take STAAR tests. It determines whether or not you get to go to the next grade level. I strongly believe that the STAAR test is very unnecessary because we have finals instead of STAAR tests, students are too stressed out, and the test is too hard.
According to Texas Assessment Management System, “ STAAR tests are designed to measure what students are learning in each grade and whether or not they are ready for the next grade. The goal is to ensure that all students receive what they need to be academically successful. Meeting these individual student needs depends greatly on schools, parents, and community members working together.”
Parents and teachers are concerned that the STAAR test is too hard. According to Texas Standard,”A fifth-grader would be expected to read at a seventh-grade level, for instance third grade would be expected to read at a fifth-grade level. This is not what we normally expect from children.”
The STAAR test alone cause large amounts of stress and anxiety to some students to where some commit suicide. According to HuffPost, “The suicide rate among 10- to 14-year-olds doubled between 2007 and 2014 – the same period in which states have increasingly adopted Common Core standards and new, more rigorous high stakes tests. For the first time, suicide surpassed car crashes as a leading cause of death for middle school children.”
Some people believe that the STAAR test is necessary and that it helps the students. According to The Hill, “We need more accountability and transparency in our education system, not less. The STAAR test — designed and approved, by the way, with the help of Texas teachers — is one useful tool to help us ensure Texas kids are receiving the education they deserve. It’s time to stop blaming the test and start focusing on ensuring children can read.”
I disagree with the STAAR test, and i hope it won’t continue much longer. The state of texas should put their students first and do what’s best for us. And a frustrating test is not the way to do that. Hopefully Texas reconsiders their system with the STAAR test.
katherine m • Apr 21, 2021 at 10:09 am
the staar is really stressful for many students i interviewed my class and only one had a positive response out of all of them
blake • Mar 25, 2021 at 1:27 pm
in my option grades show how we do on tests not from staar. staar makes it harder because its has more question than regular tests we have to wait 4 hours and people get tired of it and it basically reviewing over what you did over the past year
Student • Mar 11, 2021 at 11:10 am
in my opinion, I think our grades are enough to prove if we are failing or not, but if we are failing help us out, not stress us with more tests.
camron jackson • Feb 11, 2021 at 8:09 am
we should take the STAAR because we want the kids to see how they did or have they been paying attaion in class
Mckailah Kovar • Dec 9, 2020 at 11:45 am
The star test is unnecessary, it causes to much pressure on a student to cram nine months of work in, and remember it all. Students pay more attention to the time instead of the test because, they feel rushed with given a time scheduled test. Students should be able to not take the test if they are passing their classes, why would they need to take the test if they are passing? Even teachers do not have it fair, they have to teach out of a book of questions and answers that will be on the test and if a certain amount of students do not pass it the teacher is more than likely to be the blame for it. Even if the students were just guessing and not caring the teacher would be the blame for it and that would not be fair. If we did not have the Staar more kids grades would go up because they would not have to worry about cramming nine months of work in. Why not just have the students take the end of the year test on what the teachers teach them; instead of what the book requires them to teach. You could be firing a teacher over students lack of effort on trying on the test because you do not know exactly what the teacher could do for the students if they have to follow a book instead of teaching what they know.