STAAR test scores for students in San Antonio are trending down and falling below the state average, according to nonprofit City Education Partners.

A San Antonio nonprofit is giving the community a comprehensive look at how students are performing on the STAAR test. The report highlights strengths and areas needing support by city council district.

Data released Friday showed Texas students’ math and science scores on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness continue to slip since the pandemic.

Test anxiety is a real thing and it can hinder students from being able to perform well even though they know the material. School teachers are asking parents to help hype up kids each morning.

Teachers at one San Antonio elementary school have channeled Beyoncé to motivate their students ahead of the STAAR testing which began on Tuesday.

Several Texas school districts are suing the Texas Education Agency for changing the accountability rating system.

Thousands of Texas students who showed up in-person to take the STAAR tests in the middle of a pandemic are sitting idly while education officials frantically investigate the source of widespread technical issues that have prevented the test from being administered.

SAN ANTONIO – Dozens of Texas state representatives, led by San Antonio Democrat Diego Bernal, asked the Texas Education Agency to allow Texas parents to opt their children out of STAAR testing this year. The letter was signed by 68 state representatives in all, including all 10 from Bexar County. AdThis AM we sent a letter to TEA requesting a formal STAAR opt-out procedure. #txlege pic.twitter.com/42Viz03oQu — Diego Bernal (@DiegoBernalTX) February 8, 2021Speaking to KSAT, Bernal noted this year’s testing will matter less than usual. Bernal said parents could already opt-out in a fashion by keeping their children out of school.

Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTexas public school students must show up in person to take the STAAR test this spring and districts can apply for waivers to socially distance test takers, according to recent guidance released by the Texas Education Agency. School districts can set up sites outside of their schools, including performing arts centers, hotels and recreational centers where they can "ensure equitable access and maintain test security." AdCurrently, Texas requires all districts to allow in-person learning for all students who want it, with few exceptions. Texas has already said students in younger grades who fail required STAAR exams can move up to the next grade. Morath said the data from the tests will show the extent of the educational gaps Texas students have experienced during a devastating pandemic.

It will also continue work on an existing testing contract through August. The two companies will take over from Educational Testing Service, or ETS, which has had the bulk of the state's testing contract since 2016. Texas students grades 3-12 take the STAAR assessments, which often determine whether they can graduate or move up to the next grade. Currently, just 20% of Texas students take the STAAR online, many of them students with disabilities and those learning English, according to Cambium's contract. As ETS' contract was set to end in 2019, Texas chose to extend ETS' contract through Aug. 31.

TEXAS – STAAR testing will continue in the 2020-2021 school year despite the ongoing disruptions for student education due to the coronavirus pandemic, as announced Thursday by the Texas Education Agency. However, the A-F ratings assigned to schools every year based on these test results will be paused. Schools that incorporate these STAAR results into teacher evaluations are also being given some flexibility, as the TEA said it could remove those results from the evaluations this school year. As a result, we will not issue A-F ratings this school year.”The TEA said school systems must make STAAR available to all eligible students and administer the test on school campuses across the state or other alternative testing sites. To learn more about the STAAR test, visit the TEA’s website here.

Texas public school students will still take the STAAR test this spring, but the state will not rate schools and districts based on their results, the Texas Education Agency announced Thursday. In normal years, Texas rates its schools and districts on a scale from A through F, based in large part on the scores students receive on the standardized tests. But he said in November that he was reviewing exactly how those student scores would be used to rate schools and districts. Last spring, Texas applied for and received a waiver from the federal government allowing it not to administer the STAAR test. Usually, student scores on the test determine whether high school students can graduate, whether some elementary and middle school students can move on to the next grade, and whether schools can remain open.

“Absent the STAAR test, you’re not going to have a valid, reliable view of grade-level mastery of student skills,” he said. Last spring, Texas applied for and received a waiver from the federal government allowing it not to administer the STAAR. Texas has already committed to allowing elementary and middle school students who fail the exams this spring to move up to the next grade, with district permission. Usually, student scores on the test determine whether high school students can graduate, whether some elementary and middle school students can move on to the next grade, and whether schools can remain open. The Texas State Teachers Association, which has been calling for a suspension of STAAR testing since June, quickly came out in support of the legislators’ letter.

SAN ANTONIO – A member of the Texas House of Representatives from San Antonio is urging the Texas Education Agency to cancel the administering of the STAAR exam for the 2020- 2021 school year, citing COVID-19 concerns. Rep. Diego Bernal, a Democrat who represents District 123, sent a letter to TEA requesting that the agency seek the waivers necessary from the United States Department of Education for the cancellation. The letter has been signed by 68 Democratic and Republican members of the Texas House. But Bernal said instead of having students take the exam, the TEA “should be focused on providing high-quality public education with an emphasis on ensuring the health and safety of students and educators. You can read the letter Bernal sent to TEA below:

Texas students will still have to take the STAAR test next year, but fifth and eighth grade students will be able to move on to the next grade even if they fail, Gov. State education officials announced earlier this summer that third through 12th grade students would take the state standardized exams, or STAAR, this upcoming academic year. But Abbott said that next spring, the fifth and eighth grade math and reading exams would only be administered one time, in May. Student scores on the STAAR also determine whether high school students and graduate and whether schools can remain open. In normal circumstances, high school students must pass five subject-specific standardized tests in order to graduate.

SAN ANTONIO Harlandale ISD teachers gathered Sunday afternoon at Harlandale Memorial Stadium to voice their concerns on returning to school in the fall as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the area. The president of the Harlandale Education Association said they are asking for flexibility to do 100% remote learning until its safe to return. We want our governor... to know that you cannot put a time stamp on life, on us to return to school. Theres no way that our students should be accountable for STAAR at this moment, said Julie Gimbel, president of Harlandale Education Association. A health directive issued Friday by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District said school districts in San Antonio cannot reopen schools for on-campus, face-to-face instruction until after September 7.

AUSTIN, Texas Texas public school districts haven't finalized their plans for a return to the classroom, but they know the state will resume its high-stakes standardized testing for millions of students. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath told the state Board of Education on Tuesday that the annual State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, also known as STAAR, will return in the 2020-2021 school year. Days later, the federal government waived its standardized testing requirements. The STAAR test begins in third grade and can stop poor-performing students from advancing to the next grade or graduating high school. Standardized testing should be the last priority for students, educators and policy makers.