Senate committee advances bill to replace STAAR with three shorter tests, tighten A–F accountability

The Senate Committee on Education K-16 voted 8–0 to report Senate Bill 8, authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, advancing a plan to phase out the STAAR exam and replace it with three shorter assessments — beginning-of-year, middle-of-year and end-of-year — and to tighten rules for the state’s A–F school accountability system.

The measure, presented to the committee as Senate Bill 8, would require the Texas Education Agency to provide adaptive beginning- and middle-of-year tests, a criterion-referenced end-of-year test, faster reporting of results and a statutory schedule for updating accountability standards. “What gets measured gets fixed,” Sen. Paul Bettencourt told the committee as he described the bill’s goals.

Supporters said the bill is intended to make assessment results more timely and actionable for teachers and families while preserving a standards-based end-of-year measure that shows whether students have met Texas learning standards. Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, told the committee the proposal calls for tests that are materially shorter than the current STAAR, with most beginning- and middle-of-year tests taking about an hour and the end-of-year test about an hour and a half for most students, and results returned within two business days of the testing window’s close.

Advocates from nonprofit and business groups said quicker, clearer results would help teachers change instruction during the school year and help parents partner with schools. Kate Greer of…