As the school year slowly comes to an end and the air is finally getting warmer, it is finally the time of the year that students dread: STAAR season. The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) takes place every year in the spring. Sixth and seventh graders take two tests, one on Reading Language Arts and the other on Mathematics. However, the eighth graders take four tests: Reading Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and U.S. History.
“I do feel sort of nervous,” Julian Lares (8) said. “It is a step up from last year when there were only two.”
The STAAR test is quite stressful, mainly because of the difficult wording of questions or the hard passages students read for the Reading Language Arts and U.S. History portions. However, the teachers dedicate their work to making sure students understand the material that could possibly be on the test.
“Talking to my friends before the STAAR test gets me feeling really ready,” Elena Keller (6) said. “I do feel prepared [by my teachers].”
The educators also have specific ways they decrease students’ stress. Some math teachers give sample problems or equations and walk through how to solve the problem. Additionally, different English and history teachers give tips on how to read the test questions or passages well so students can comprehend the information correctly. However, math is quite tricky for many students especially since the STAAR test may give incorrect answers as an answer choice which can trick test takers.
“I hope they study and pay attention when we are we do are doing the staar review days 10 days before STAAR,” 7th grade math teacher Ms. Maddox said.
But as the days get closer to STAAR and the anxiety becomes more and more common, some teachers have to cope with the multitude of questions and comments from students and parents.
“I would say some students get more stressed but then some don’t care as much,” Ms. Maddox said. “I don’t get too stressed, though.”
The STAAR Reading Language Arts test will be taken on April 8 for all students, Algebra EOC will be on April 22, and the mathematics test will be taken on April 24. For 8th graders, the U.S. History STAAR will be taken on April 17 and the Science STAAR on April 15.
