STARR testing...anyones kid having trouble?

[westexasagent]

My son has had report cards in the AB honor roll ALL YEAR and does great in all subjects but is now required to go to summer school because of this **** test? Even his teachers dont understand. They are threatening to hold him back in 8th! The kid makes A's and B's and he passed all but one section...the english ..which he has an 83 average in for the year in school! Anyone have something similar?

[150class]

English was always my hardest class in high school... Literally made straight A's but that English always was a toss up but I made A's in Spanish and I can't speak a luck of it today...?

I took the Taks in high school and it was a joke but I hear the new test is t near as easy

[westexasagent]

Lawmakers are ready to break out the wrecking ball on STAAR, based on what they feel are disturbingly poor results. Noting that the passing rates for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were even worse than results from other students, even after the retake results were included, Sen. Dan Patrick, the chairman of the state Senate education committee, wondered aloud during testimony with state education officials, "Either teachers are doing a poor job teaching or the tests aren't reflective of what needs to be learned. It's either or. Which is it?"

[kparker158]

In our school, I'm a junior in all advanced classes, they have us a STAAR test to see how we'll do. That test was so dang hard. I'm pretty sure I failed it. My brother failed it as a freshman also this year.

[westtexducks]

Lawmakers are ready to break out the wrecking ball on STAAR, based on what they feel are disturbingly poor results. Noting that the passing rates for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds were even worse than results from other students, even after the retake results were included, Sen. Dan Patrick, the chairman of the state Senate education committee, wondered aloud during testimony with state education officials, "Either teachers are doing a poor job teaching or the tests aren't reflective of what needs to be learned. It's either or. Which is it?"

Where the problem is, is the **** government needs to get the hell out of the mandatory testing and let the teachers do the jobs they were payed to do, several of my math classes in school would teach you what you needed to know all year and then 2 weeks before the taks test stop and teach test specific stuff, and then go right back to teaching the important stuff. So 2 weeks out of the year were completely wasted and the test was not reflective of anything. Go ask a teacher what they think of it behind a closed door and you will hear an earful.

The whole staar testing program was a complete bust, and tied the teachers hands behind their backs to the point where they couldn't teach.

Teachers kid, so I have heard it all haha.

[kparker158]

I really feel bad for the freshmans and everyone else that takes the STAAR. The TAKS were a breeze compared to the new test

[hoythunter02]

Pm sent Steve.

[Bonesplitter]

Both of mine passed all theirs but they said it was a tough testing.

[friscopaint]

My step son failed the essay part, makes good grades and not a dumb kid by any stretch, summer school for him too. I came down fairly hard on him, has a lazy streak, but hearing more of this not so sure. I did see the "summer school" is voluntary, which I'm sending him but I hope they actually work on it rather than it just being a baby sitting session.

Like others I'm against the government having "assessment tests".

[friscopaint]

My son has had report cards in the AB honor roll ALL YEAR and does great in all subjects but is now required to go to summer school because of this **** test? Even his teachers dont understand. They are threatening to hold him back in 8th! The kid makes A's and B's and he passed all but one section...the english ..which he has an 83 average in for the year in school! Anyone have something similar?

That's another thing I'm not keen on, not that it's not good grades, an AB honor roll. My kids are A's and B's and they are fine with that and I tell them that's nice but look, just a little more effort and all A's but they have been conditioned that it's Ok, no longer a sense of pride in grades (for most, not all). Back when I was in high school 80-82 there was just an honor roll which meant straight A's. Part of the everybody get's a ribbon movement now. Went to an awards ceremony at my daughters elementary and EVERYBODY got an award !! Some got awards for "being nice". When I was a kid the only awards were for perfect attendance, reading every book on the list (long list), and the class grade leaders. Needless to say I never got one of them, and the awards ceremonies went much faster. When I made B's I tried harder to make A's to be on the honor roll.

[Slow-n-steady]

State mandated high stakes testing and the state and federal accountability system that is tied to it are crippling our texas schools. Teachers teach to the test because that is how their job performance is rated. Schools are rated on these test scores as well as the districts they are in. STAAR scores are low right now generally because STAAR is new and educators haven't figured out how to teach to it yet. You will see scores rise over the next few years because teachers will figure out how to teach the test better and lawmakers will say that Texas kids are getting a better education. Do schools and teachers need to be held accountable? Yes, but there has to be a better way than basing everything on these high stakes one fits all tests. We should be teaching 21st century skills, technology, communication skills that prepare students to thrive in this economy but public schools are locked into teaching students how to pass tests. The amount of money that Texas has paid Pearson for these tests is over a billion dollars. Makes me sick to my stomach.
Sorry, rant over. This just gets my blood boiling.

[TxMedic]

Ridiculous!

[Iansumrall]

My class this year was the last one to take Taks and most everyone I knew passed it, but every Underclassmen I would talked to failed something or another of not all of them on the STAAR test. And now every single one of those students have to go retake it in July.

[Chad C]

As for middle school, my wife's school was top performer in their district with 750ish students. No issues.

But, I'm not a proponent for standardized testing...

[JHT]

In the May edition of Texas Monthly there is a really good article about this testing.

Summary:

It started with good intentions in Texas with the kids education being the main goal.

Other states followed our plan.

The company doing the testing was making over $450 million alone from Texas.

After a few years the testing was not showing any benefits for the kids, it was showing more negative than positive for them.

Texas teachers are forced to teach the test and abandon normal classroom routine.

One of the biggest detractors of the testing was a lady who was very into its passing. She was a teacher herself and sees what the testing has done to education in Texas.

The only ones still saying the tests are a good idea have a huge $$$$$$ stake in it continuing on.

Most of them declined to be interviewed for the article.

Like anything with government involved, follow the $$ is the feeling I get.