Standardized testing has been around for a long time now, most of us started doing them in 3rd grade and continue to do them. There are many viewpoints on STAAR some say it’s much needed while others would disagree. I dislike STAAR as do most other students. There are many disadvantages to STAAR such as lowering your GPA or rank, being more advanced than your grade level in how it is worded, causing distress,and STAAR costing millions of dollars annually just to give.

It can keep you from passing a grade level or lower your GPA which adds extra stress to it. If you have had a good grade the whole year but don’t perform while on your STAAR it can mess up your grade point average which you have been working hard for. Colleges rarely check STAAR scores but it still may affect your grade average or ranking which can hurt your college admission process, according to a Quora.com article. .

I perform well on STAAR test and still get nervous when I take them because we are constantly told how important they are for our grades and just overall. According to an April 1 Dallas Morning News commentary,    had a parent that is also a teacher talk abut the STAAR and she said “ I have met many teachers from around the state who know the pain and suffering the STAAR test has caused. They tell me about students becoming sick, stressing out, vomiting; about teachers losing faith in their ability to teach because they are required to teach to a test, feeling threatened by job stress.” I have first hand seen kids say they feel stressed or feel like throwing up because of the STAAR.

According to, Save Tx Schools “ Educators have determined that EOC assessments are written in language three Lexile levels higher than TAKS tests for the same grade level (a Lexile measure is the numeric representation of an individual’s reading ability or a text’s readability). This means students may understand the subject matter, but may not understand what is being asked because test questions are phrased in language beyond their grade level.”  While many kids understand the material perfectly fine they may struggle with the question because of the wording. Recently we took our STAAR test and there were questions where I felt it could be two answers because of the wording. We are told we can only ask help with the directions when in reality we need help with how the questions are worded.

STAARS are also very expensive approximately 90 million dollars just to give out, they are roughly $3-$7 per test, Kera News says. That is lots of money that taxpayers are providing. It can go to much more beneficial things such as better resources for school that need them or to have more activities to beguile the students in the lesson they are being taught. Many kids don’t actually learn the material but instead just remember it for the test instead of enjoying it and actually listening.

Although they are many disadvantages to the STAAR test there are also advantages just like anything else. I would consider the test a important test because if I fail them then I get held back which creates a lot of stress towards the STAAR which is why many students dislike the STAAR. It can affect your grade point average or ranking, it is made at a higher reading level then the kids that are taking it are used to, and it is also extremely expensive to give. Even though there are more disadvantages the STAAR is still around and the best thing we can do is just breathe and prepare kids for it.