Students prepare for STAAR test, Districts work to understand changes

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - Students across the state are getting ready for the STAAR test, a required exam to see where students are in their performance.

Results are used to guide the need for additional instruction for individual students and grade the district. But, for 2023, parents need to be aware that changes have happened.

This includes how the test is given and when results are expected. This has left many school districts frustrated.

In a Bryan ISD School Board Meeting Monday, board members voiced their frustration with a lack of direction from the Texas Education Agency, which oversees these tests every year.

College Station ISD Deputy Superintendent, Molley Perry, says this includes a delay in test results.

“This year in particular, parents probably need to know that they won’t have that information until much later than what they’re accustomed to. We’re expecting the Texas Education Agency to release the actual STAAR student performance in mid-August and we won’t even know how that impacts District ratings until September. So it is a delayed process,” she said.

Changes like moving the test online are behind these delays. It’s a challenge for districts because those tests tell parents if their child needs additional instruction. Typically, that would take place over the summer.

“We’re going to do our very best to estimate which students need to participate in that instruction and offer and encourage that for our students in the summer. So moving into the next school year we will have already met those requirements for as many students as possible,” Perry said. “We really believe that star performance is just one piece of information to help inform us about how our students are doing. So we’re Gathering other information to guide those decisions and recommendations for summer programming.”

CSISD says they will be providing additional information to parents in the coming weeks about how this process will look. BISD says they will be addressing their concerns during a workshop on Monday, April 3.