This past week students across San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District began STAAR testing. There are changes in the 2023 test though that will affect each student. According to the Texas Education Agency website, the STAAR test redesign more closely aligns the exams with classroom learning.
For example, the multiple choice questions now resemble more of the material students encounter everyday in the classroom. There are cross-curricular passages in the tests that reference background knowledge learned in other subject areas. The reading and language arts portions now include what is called evidence-based writing.To accommodate students, the new tests include certain online assessments designed to assist students in demonstrating their knowledge in a way not previously offered.
The STAAR redesign is a direct result of House Bill 3906 passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019, the website stated. The bill contained various components related to the administration as well as the content of the exam, with an increased input from teachers and heightened flexibility for test administration as part of the process.
