STAAR Test…You’ve Missed The Mark!
There are many things that I just go with, but when it comes to STAAR…I really get frustrated. With that said, these are my viewpoints on the State of Texas Standardized Test.
STAAR Test…You’ve Missed The Mark!
For the past couple of weeks, all I have been hearing about is…
“The STAAR test is next month.”
“Don’t forget, STAAR test is coming up.”
“Hey mom…my STAAR test is next week.”
The talk of STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) has been so much that I seriously want to pull my hair out and I don’t even have to take the test. It’s not because my kids are telling me…but because my kids are mandated to take this test that is pointless in my opinion.
Last month, I had this conversation with my son.
Son: Mom, the STAAR test is next week and we are doing the writing portion.
Me: Ok son, you will do fine, don’t stress out over it. It’s just like any other test. (When really in the back of my mind, I know that the state weighs heavily on these test scores for some stupid reasoning of knowing what school performs better than another.)
Son: I know mom, I can write a story!
While my older son is just going with it…my younger son is SERIOUSLY STRESSED. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t have an anxiety attack over this test.
SO with that said…I’m going to express my view points on this as I like to call it, Stupid Test Assessing Academic Readiness. Some of you won’t agree with me and I am totally ok with that. Some of you will agree 100% and that’s cool too.
So here we go…
Stop the insanity…STAAR is stressing our kids out
Don’t cause stress for our kids. They don’t need to be reminded every.single.day that the STAAR test is coming up. THEY KNOW!! TRUST ME!! This standardized test is only stressing our kids out and causing some to feel anxiety over it if they don’t perform well on the test.
Not only is it stressing our kids out, it’s stressing us out as parents and at least one of my kids is so stressed he has lost sleep over it. Seriously? Why would we think it is ok to cause our children to lose sleep over a test? FYI…IT’S NOT OK!
Life is about learning, not some standardized test
Take the test away or if the state is going to keep it, they (meaning state representatives or their children, grandchildren, etc. at the grade level) should have to take the test and pass it before it is passed as a mandated test for all kids to take. Real people aren’t creating these tests, they are OVERLY educated people who think WAY above anyone on a normal levels playing field. So what about having real people create the test or better yet…why not let the teachers (that are hired to teach our children) create the test?
Life is not about a test…it’s about learning.
Teach our kids and don’t just teach them to take a test
I know teachers are doing the best they can and also following the guidelines they have set before them. Lord knows if they don’t teach the way they are forced to, they will lose their jobs. That’s not right at all. With that said…I don’t blame the teachers.
I blame the system…100%.
Stop the complicatedness of it all
Kids don’t learn when they are taught complicated ways to solve a problem. Keep it simple and don’t mark the answer wrong just because they didn’t show their work with some overly complicated way. Most kids don’t learn the way you want them to learn so if they found a simplified way to get the answer and it’s right…guess what, mark the answer correct.
Not every child learns the same way…so let them get the answers right the way that they know and understand best!
Figure out how the test will count before implementing it
Stop changing the guidelines for the test and whether it will count for or against our children. If the state is being indecisive on whether the test should be used for or against our children to pass on to the next grade level then why are they having to take the test in the first place?
Make up your mind already…stop the indecisiveness!
Now, I know that I could homeschool my children in the State of Texas without them being mandated to take the STAAR test, but quite honestly, I don’t have the patience to homeschool. I’m also not afraid to admit that either. I also know that if they went to a private school, they wouldn’t be mandated to take the test either. The problem is, I don’t have nearly $22,000 extra in my families budget to afford said private school. Do you?
Good luck, Kristi. There’s a lot of issues with “teaching to a test” that weighs so heavily in government aid, teaching positions, etc. Texas isn’t alone on this issue.
I recall when I was kid – we were told the day before that we had standardized testing (it was on the school calendar of course, but what child checks that for anything other than vacation days?) Now that’s how to get an accurate evaluation of how a student is progressing.
(This was private schools taking state tests.)
Ann
My son starts Kindergarten next year so we haven’t had any experience with STAAR, but I’ve heard tons about it and appreciate your viewpoint. I feel like our education system has so many issues and the more they try to fix it, the worse it gets! I was in the education department in Virginia in college and we had the SOL tests there. It was crazy because the SOLs weren’t always on what the teachers taught on. So the schools would teach one thing, then stop and have to teach FOR the SOLs to make sure they could pass it because it affected the school if they couldn’t. It was definitely the system, not the teachers, and just made everything difficult for everyone. I don’t necessarily think tests are a problem, but when they aren’t on what’s being taught in the classroom or are some totally separate thing, it makes life complicated and gives the teachers more work and sets the kids of to fail.