Education in Texas is facing a change as the 89th Legislature plans to transform the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness.
For the past 14 years, students in Texas have been subject to hours of testing. In order to eradicate the stress and pressure accompanying standardized testing, House Bill 8 makes an update to the system.
The bill was proposed by Representative Brad Buckley, after much debate in the house.
“The anxiety around the test is because of the accountability linked to the test,” Buckley said to the Texas House Committee on Education. “HB 8 will end the high-stakes nature of one test, one day.”
There will be three shorter assessments over the course of the school year–beginning-of-year, middle-of-year, and end-of-year tests.
“Multiple tests could mean more scheduling issues and more stress around those testing windows and a potential reduction in instructional time,” English teacher Jennifer Herrera said. “I’ll need to make sure that by October and January, students are prepared enough for those assessments.”
Although the bill passed earlier in September, changes won’t be in effect until the 2027-2028 school year. Until then, testing will continue as it has been.
“I think this will put less pressure on students,” Herrera said. “Instead of one big, high-stakes exam, students will have 3 opportunities to demonstrate learning/skill.”
For some students, including sophomore Vanessa Park, this change is welcomed, but the timing is a little inconvenient.
“I think it is good that they are getting rid of STAAR,” Park said. “I just wish they did it when I still had to take the test.”
Accompanying the updates is a change that will directly affect high schoolers–English II will no longer have a required EOC once the bill takes effect.
House Bill 8 also causes schools to reconsider test preparation. With this new testing, scores on three separate tests will factor into a schools rating.
This modification will require some adaptation from both teachers and students, as practice exams prior to state testing are now banned.
“As a teacher, I’ll need to adjust my planning, pacing, and assessment schedule,” Herrera said. “I’ll need to build in more checkpoints along the way and all teachers will most likely need professional development on the new test format.”
