Dallas City Wire

State Rep. Morgan Meyer (R-Highland Park) is the latest to join the movement toward waiving the high-stakes accountability ratings of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exam through May 2021, according to media reports.

On Twitter, Meyer tweeted that he asked Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to waive the STAAR after hearing from families across the school district.

“If we must resume testing, I’m requesting that scores not be punitive to students. COVID-19 is hard enough on students without the added pressure of STAAR test scores,” Meyer posted July 8.

Meyer sent a formal letter to Morath, requesting a reconsideration of the decision to proceed with STAAR testing for students in the 2020-2021 academic year.

“As a member of the Texas House Public Education Committee and a commissioner to the Education Commission of the States, I'm writing you to respectfully request that TEA reconsider resuming STAAR testing in the 2021 school year,” Meyer wrote in the July 8 letter. “Continuing the pause in testing will allow our public schools, administrators and teachers to continue focusing on the health, safety, wellness and learning of our students.” 

After Gov. Greg Abbott suspended the controversial testing program in May due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the Wichita Falls Independent School District, Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Denton), Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Travis) and Rep. Dan Flynn (R-Van) announced their support for waiving accountability ratings along with teachers and parents. For example, Teachers for Texas has begun circulating a petition and an Opt-Out Texas Facebook group helps parents demand that their children not be subjected to STAAR requirements.

“It is my intention to file a bill that protects students from punitive action based on STAAR test results, ensuring that there is legislative policy protecting students and parents in the wake of a pandemic that has appended our schools and our lives,” said Meyer’s letter. “The stakes are high enough. There's no need to raise them even higher.”

As previously reported in the Lone Star Standard, STAAR exam results are used to evaluate performance in reading, writing, math, science and social studies for 3rd- through 12th-grade students but the coronavirus has caused inconsistent student participation and other virtual learning deficiencies. Currently there are 5.4 million students in Texas, according to the TEA.  

“I would support the bill state Rep. Meyer is proposing if he's being sincere,” said Lynn Davenport, a parent advocate and member of Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, a group that actively defends the rights of parents and students to protect their personal data. “There's a lot of political theater. I'm always looking to peel back the curtain because Morgan Meyer is actually really close to the camp that wants to reform the school system. When I go to the legislature, he argues with us when we testify.”

That reformation includes initiatives such as year-round school, teacher pay tied to test scores, standardized testing and using schools for wrap-around services, such as meals, mental health counseling and health care, according to Davenport.

“There's a whole other agenda at play that includes replacing the STAAR exam with computer-adaptive assessment, which will further shackle our kids to technologies in real time,” Davenport said. “It's digital enslavement, and there will be constant data surveillance on our kids. They won’t be better off for it.”