Dear Texas Association of School Administrators,
I am writing to this board to draw your attention to some of the problems and that come with high-stakes standardized tests like the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). I believe that standardized tests should not have such a huge role in your education for three reasons. First of all, the STAAR puts pressure on the teachers to “teach to the test” by only teaching what is necessary for one 8th grade standardized test, instead of what information will be necessary for higher levels of education Next, as standardized tests become more and more important, skills and qualities like critical thinking, creativity, and leadership are becoming less valued than test taking. Finally,
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This can lead to many problems and if it is taken on a higher scale, it can affect the way that an entire school operates. When teachers only teach what is needed for the test and not what is important to the student or helps them individually learn, it changes the environment of a school. This also places importance on short term memorization and not persistence and actually learning the material. Standardized tests with high stakes, not just the STAAR, affect many aspects of a students life and education. If we think the most important part of an entire school year in regards to a students learning is one end of the year test, we might need to revisit the purpose of education. Learning is supposed to interest the student and get them involved through activities and projects to find out what they enjoy and love. It’s not to temporarily memorize information in order to achieve higher classes, and better scholarships. There are more important things in education than a classes standardized test scores, and we need to be aware of the issues they may be