Even with some students learning at home and others learning inside the classroom, the STAAR exam will go on in 2021.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced on Thursday, December 10th that the state's public school students will have to take the STAAR test in the Spring of 2021. The results will be used to collect information on the students, but will not be used to rate schools or districts.

Since the school year began, school superintendents, lawmakers, and other advocates have called on the Texas Education Agency to cancel STAAR exams again in 2021, but the Commissioner of the TEA, Mike Morath, rejected that idea.

According to the Texas Tribune, Morath believes STAAR testing will be a guide in determining how much learning has been lost during the pandemic. In a statement Thursday, Morath said the results of the tests will not impact schools:

“The pandemic has disrupted school operations in fundamental ways that have often been outside the control of our school leaders, making it far more difficult to use these ratings as a tool to support student academic growth. As a result, we will not issue A-F ratings this school year."

Last spring, the federal government allowed states to seek waivers so that states would not have to administer standardized testing. While students in Texas will have to take the STAAR exam in 2021, elementary and middle school students who fail the exams will be able to move up with district permission.

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