STAAR Testing - Anyone Opted Their Kids Out of Taking It?

[CaptainDave]

If you have not been a part of taking, training or administering the STAAR test you have no idea what is involved. You cannot have a Smart watch, computer or your phone in the room with you and you are given specific instructions in the manual on what you can say to the kids before and during the test. It is written out for you in dark letters to know exactly what you can say to them, nothing more, nothing less. Lots of stress on everyone involved. If you happen to leave the room with the test booklets and bubble sheets, you are basically screwed. You have to document every little thing, if they move or you move where they sit, what time they start, what time they finish, what time they go to the nurse or bathroom and what time they return. They have basically 4hours to finish although some have extended time so they can take all day and some will have 2 full days to take one test. I also have almost all my kids have oral. I read everything to them except the reading passages, they have to read that themselves. Stress, stress and more stress.

I don't believe children should be put under so much pressure on a standardized test, however, what you have written there is about par for an array of standardized tests such as SAT, GMAT, LSAT, CPA exam, MCATS, etc. Strict testing protocol, time limits, 2 forms of ID, finger prints, instructions, whatever. Heck, college examines have proctors that walk up and down the aisles the entire time and even escort people to the restroom.

Standardized test have been a part of education for a very long time. Let's not act like it's something new. Achievement test for primary and elementary school kids is nothing new either. Sure, the States pressure and emphasis has increased over the years; which I would agree isn't a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's too much pressure, especially for Primary/elementary age students; but we should also not shelter children too much from these types of things they will eventually encounter later in life.

[Mudslinger]

I don't believe children should be put under so much pressure on a standardized test, however, what you have written there is about par for an array of standardized tests such as SAT, GMAT, LSAT, CPA exam, MCATS, etc. Strict testing protocol, time limits, 2 forms of ID, finger prints, instructions, whatever. Heck, college examines have proctors that walk up and down the aisles the entire time and even escort people to the restroom.

Standardized test have been a part of education for a very long time. Let's not act like it's something new. Achievement test for primary and elementary school kids is nothing new either. Sure, the States pressure and emphasis has increased over the years; which I would agree isn't a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's too much pressure, especially for Primary/elementary age students; but we should also not shelter children too much from these types of things they will eventually encounter later in life.

Every 6 weeks assessment tests I do not believe shelter the kids. Testing still occurs without the pressure and still gets them tested. The oressure on everyone is way less and I believe the dcores sill increase!

[Dudley]

There is absolutely an option to opt out of taking the test and it will not affect there advancing to the next grade. But, it does still count as a failure against the teacher and the school.

Maybe we are just talking semantics. In my district if you attend school on test day you will be given a test and 4 hours to complete it. It will then be sent in to the state for scoring, even if you write on it "REFUSED. DO NOT SCORE." The only way to not "take" the test is to be absent all week. Yes, not taking the test could result in you not passing to the next grade (5th and 8th grade math and reading). A grade placement committee is not required to place students in the next grade level. Our district will not even consent to a grade placement meeting unless the student takes the third attempt. That is according to the district's attorney's interpretation of TEA requirements..."If a student does not pass on the third attempt..."

[Dudley]

Every 6 weeks assessment tests I do not believe shelter the kids. Testing still occurs without the pressure and still gets them tested. The oressure on everyone is way less and I believe the dcores sill increase!

I like that idea, but as long as scores are monitored by the state and school rankings include student scores, it is going to be high-stakes testing, except 6 times a year instead of once.

[meathunter]

The STAAR test does a really good job of creating a heat map of Title 1 schools in Texas. The higher the socio economics in the school, the higher the scores and vice versa.

[jfalcone8]

This is greatness!

Opting out will not do anything beneficial for your daughter. I understand your concern and trust me you’re not the only one who thinks this way!

I would encourage you to write your state rep and while you do so, tell them I need more than a $5,000 raise! ������

[Sackett]

This is greatness!

Opting out will not do anything beneficial for your daughter. I understand your concern and trust me you’re not the only one who thinks this way!

I would encourage you to write your state rep and while you do so, tell them I need more than a $5,000 raise! ������

I think Teachers are THE MOST UNDERPAID occupation on the planet and try to do as much as I can for the staff at My daughters school.

[tkuehn5410]

My kids take it.

I will not be able to opt them out of real life challenges.. JMHO

Amen! My kids also pitch tourney baseball, and play soccer and basketball. Sure, the teachers hype up the test all year, but if you've conditioned your kid and taught him/her how to be prepared, then it's just another game or test...

[d_e_smith]

One thing that might help is some of these tax payers are parents of kids taking the STAAR test and some are just now seeing the cost and the pressure put on their kids and teachers. there is minor talk about doing away with the STAAR tests. It has been proven since 2012 that the 3rd grade reading passages are actually n a 5th grade level.

Another thing, some kids such as the ones I have are taught on grade levels they are on a lower level, such as a 5th grader being taught math at a 3rd grade level to try and get him caught up, but then he is STAAR tested on a 5th grade level. How is that helping anyone? It happens a lot in the reading part of the STAAR for sure. I have witnessed it to many times.
This and a lot of teachers are told not to give failing grades and there are way to many kids that are below grade level that are just passed on to the next grade to fail that grade and it is done that way until they can get them out of the 12th grade or they quit!
Honestly the school systems in a lot of districts are failures in certain areas. I do not believe many are exempt from this. I blame a lot of this not on teachers, but on the Administration, School Boards and the people in our state level of government and the TEA, especially in areas above the school Admin. Just my opinion.

That’s last paragraph is why the system is FUBAR. A whole lot of time, $ and energy thrown at trying to defy statistics. Meanwhile, exploiting those exact same statistics to bring in more program funding.

[bundyducks]

The only real opt out I can see is if you send your kid, that particular grade level, to a private school private schools do not do the star test.

[AZST_bowhunter]

One thing that might help is some of these tax payers are parents of kids taking the STAAR test and some are just now seeing the cost and the pressure put on their kids and teachers. there is minor talk about doing away with the STAAR tests. It has been proven since 2012 that the 3rd grade reading passages are actually n a 5th grade level.

Another thing, some kids such as the ones I have are taught on grade levels they are on a lower level, such as a 5th grader being taught math at a 3rd grade level to try and get him caught up, but then he is STAAR tested on a 5th grade level. How is that helping anyone? It happens a lot in the reading part of the STAAR for sure. I have witnessed it to many times.
This and a lot of teachers are told not to give failing grades and there are way to many kids that are below grade level that are just passed on to the next grade to fail that grade and it is done that way until they can get them out of the 12th grade or they quit!
Honestly the school systems in a lot of districts are failures in certain areas. I do not believe many are exempt from this. I blame a lot of this not on teachers, but on the Administration, School Boards and the people in our state level of government and the TEA, especially in areas above the school Admin. Just my opinion.

My wife is a 3rd grade teacher in the hood here in Houston. about 75% of her class at the start of the year is on a K or 1st grade reading level. The school is 96% Hispanic, oh and they just got 50 new arrivals this past week...

[TxDispatcher]

As far as the comment above that kids who want to color outside of the lines are snowflakes...I've seen some crazy comments posted on threads throughout the years, but that one takes the cake. I'm very thankful that men like Benjamin Franklin, Eli Whitney, Thomas Edison, and Alexander Graham Bell didn't stay inside the lines and follow the crowd. We wouldn't have TBH and wouldn't be able to see classic comments like that

[brokeno]

The education system is messed up and probably not going to get fixed. Kind of like the Govt.

[Hunteraudit]

Quit relying on the state to educate your kids, do more work with them at home and they’ll make that test their *****. Time wasted on teaching to the test is time lost. Lobby against that, not the taking of the test.

[BJ DUPLECHAIN]

As a teacher, I never really understood the "teaching to the test" mentality that many people have. I've taught 8th grade math, 8th grade science, and hs biology.

The state says, "This is what we (State of Texas) are going to test the kids over. This is what we (State of Texas) want the students to know before being promoted to the next grade." It would be ridiculous to not teach them the concepts they are going to be tested over. To me, if I was "teaching to the test," I would be going over questions [I]on the test.[I] That is not the case.

Now, do I think the system is perfect? No, I do not. About the only thing a standardized test shows, is how good a student will do on the next standardized test.

My son is in 7th grade. He has taken every STAAR test, and will continue to take them. He has to take an ACT or SAT for college entrance, so he might as well get some practice in now.