Efforts to overhaul standardized testing in Texas schools have come to a halt after the state legislature failed to agree on the terms of a bill that aimed to replace the controversial STAAR test. CBS Austin reported that the proposed House Bill 4, which sought to substitute the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness with three shorter exams throughout the academic year, was unable to secure a compromise before a critical legislative deadline.
While both the Senate and the House initially supported the idea of eliminating the STAAR test, their alignment fractured over the design of the new testing system, along with discrepancies concerning the A-F ratings system, which presently employs STAAR test results to evaluate the performance of schools, according to details obtained by The Texas Tribune. The legislative session was running under the shadows of past disputes where litigation over rating calculations had previously stalled score releases for two years, and it seems history was set to repeat itself as consensus eluded the lawmakers within the marbled walls of the state capitol.
The Senate's version of the bill favored tightening the Texas Education Agency commissioner’s authority, taking the extra step of granting powers to appoint conservators over school districts that might challenge ratings through the courts, "We think we are better off that there is no bill at all than what the Senate wanted to do," Clay Robison, a spokesperson for the Texas State Teachers Association, told CBS Austin. In contrast, the House called for legislative approval before implementing significant shifts in the ratings system and strived to maintain schools' ability to legally challenge the TEA.
Differences between the state chambers were not just limited to the procedural nature of litigations and the commissioner’s authority, debates on whether to do away with a mandatory social studies test also persisted, with the House taking a stance for reduced testing meanwhile the Senate wanted stricter measures, and when senators derided the school districts for their involvement in the lawsuits against the state's accountability mechanisms, the cosiness between educational leaders and the legislative house saw a clear division, as superintendents avoided Senate hearings in favor of discussing concerns with House members. These delay tactics, whether intentional or a product of an intricate bureaucracy, pushed back the House’s revisions and short-circuited the negotiation process.
In the eyes of the Texas State Teachers Association, the stakes of the STAAR test are exceedingly high, as it not only siphons vital instructional time but also fails to measure student success accurately. "But the group was holding their breath when the two chambers were in closed-door negotiations," Robison remarked to The Texas Tribune. With the legislative session concluded, Texas educators and students must continue under the current testing regime, for now, left to await another round of legislative battles over the future of standardized testing in the state.
