Overhaul of schools’ STAAR test proposed by Texas House bill

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Children in public schools in Texas could be taking a redesigned standardized test as early as next year under a proposal filed in the House on Thursday.

House Bill 4, by state Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, would instruct the Texas Education Agency to modify the test, reducing its length and prioritizing post-secondary preparation. The bill says the new test should ensure Texas ranks in the top five states in preparing students for post-secondary success within 15 years.

“It is shedding some of the challenges with our current STAAR test and moving to something that makes sure students have more time to develop a love of learning and teachers have the information they need to respond to student needs as soon as practicable,” said Kate Greer, managing director of policy at Commit Partnership, an education nonprofit focused on increasing student achievement.

Starting in third grade, Texas students are required to take the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness test, or STAAR, every year. The Texas American Federation of Teachers and other groups have criticized STAAR, saying it has numerous design flaws.

The test may go by a different name if it’s redesigned but school districts would continue to receive an overall performance rating between A-F based on the results of the revamped test and other factors. A poor rating can lead the state to take over oversight of a district. In 2023, the TEA replaced the school board and superintendent of Houston ISD, the largest school district in the state, because of the poor performance of one high school.

The bill prohibits the TEA commissioner from assigning an overall performance rating of “not rated” to all districts or all campuses statewide. In the 2020-2021 school year, in the wake of school disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, every school system in the state received a rating of “not rated.” In the following school year, schools that would have received a D or an F rating also received a “not rated” rating.

Lawsuits filed by districts that argue the ratings are an inaccurate representation of their work have blocked the release of the ratings since 2023. HB 4 would limit districts’ ability to bring future suits. Districts would not be able to sue the agency over their ratings unless they’ve exhausted the TEA commissioner’s process for challenging them. If they sued after that, the commissioner would appoint a conservator to ensure the funds the district used to bring the lawsuit did not come from the state or local sources like district taxes. If a district used those types of funds and did not drop the lawsuit, the conservator would appoint a board of managers to oversee the operations of the district.

The legislation also limits school districts’ ability to pay their attorneys when they sue the state. If they sued because they disagreed with a performance rating, they’d have to deposit money for their attorney into an escrow account. The money would not be able to go to that attorney until the case is resolved and only if the district prevails.

HB 4 and five other bills were filed Thursday as part of a public education package that House Speaker Dustin Burrows wants the chamber to prioritize. They include legislation that would create a program to give families state funds to pay for their children’s private schooling , increase public school funding and give educators more options to discipline students.

House Bill 123 would give $750 to parents so they could get their child tutoring if they do not pass the third grade reading assessment. The measure by State Rep. Harold Dutton, of Houston, "bolsters early literacy and mathematics intervention," Burrows said in a statement.

"This session, the House will lead from the front by passing a series of sweeping reforms to improve our education system for Texas students, teachers, and parents," he said.

Disclosure: Commit Partnership has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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