October 16, 2015

Today, Commissioner of Education Michael Williams sent a letter to Texas superintendents detailing measures that will decrease the length of various STAAR tests this year. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that they will be using this year’s STAAR administration to study how long students are currently taking to complete the tests in order to guide future test development that meets the requirements of House Bill (HB) 743.

“This is a step in the right direction for Texas students,” ATPE Executive Director Gary Godsey said. “ATPE will continue working hard to reduce unnecessary testing burdens on Texas students and educators.”

Earlier this year, the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) and other stakeholders convened with Rep. Dan Huberty’s office to discuss the implementation of HB 743. The bill requires that STAAR tests be written so that 85 percent of third through fifth graders can finish in less than two hours. It also says 85 percent of sixth through eighth graders should be able to complete the assessment in less than three hours. Prior to this week, the TEA took a position that only the writing test would be shortened to meet the requirements for the current school year.

Find out more on our blog here: http://www.teachthevote.org/news/2015/10/16/tea-takesimmediate-steps-to-shorten-staar-tests-in-grades-3-8/

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The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) has been a strong voice for Texas educators since 1980. It is the leading educators’ association in Texas with more than 100,000 members statewide. With its strong collaborative philosophy, ATPE speaks for classroom teachers, administrators, future, retired and para-educators and works to create better opportunities for 5 million public schoolchildren. ATPE is the ally and the voice of Texas public school education.