To: The Texas State House and The Texas State Senate
Let's kick STAAR out of our classrooms!
STUDENT PETITION TO END HIGH STAKES TESTING IN OUR CLASSROOMS
Why is this important?
As Texas students, we petition the Texas Legislature to end the STAAR Tests and other high stakes tests immediately.
Our position on STAAR testing is that it is atrocious. It’s not right to take the hopes and dreams of graduating high school away from us. The STAAR test will cause students to drop out of high school who can’t pass the tests.
If the law is going to say that a freshman who failed STAAR will not graduate then why should WE try to do our best in the next 3 years? The 9th grade should be a year that orients us to the high school curriculum, not a year that forces us into a make-or-break test that could end our educational path before it begins. This is a very unhealthy atmosphere that the laws are bringing into our schools and homes. Teachers, parents, families, and students are put under enormous stress and pressure.
It is not fair to measure our intelligence by administering a test given to a 9th grader. There are so many levels of intelligence and learning that develop after the age of 14.
The tests don’t help students improve by identifying their weaknesses
Testing and preparing for tests waste weeks of time when we should be learning from our teachers
The tests aren’t educational, and they don’t prepare US for college
WE want our teachers to test us on what we’ve learned.
Our position on STAAR testing is that it is atrocious. It’s not right to take the hopes and dreams of graduating high school away from us. The STAAR test will cause students to drop out of high school who can’t pass the tests.
If the law is going to say that a freshman who failed STAAR will not graduate then why should WE try to do our best in the next 3 years? The 9th grade should be a year that orients us to the high school curriculum, not a year that forces us into a make-or-break test that could end our educational path before it begins. This is a very unhealthy atmosphere that the laws are bringing into our schools and homes. Teachers, parents, families, and students are put under enormous stress and pressure.
It is not fair to measure our intelligence by administering a test given to a 9th grader. There are so many levels of intelligence and learning that develop after the age of 14.
The tests don’t help students improve by identifying their weaknesses
Testing and preparing for tests waste weeks of time when we should be learning from our teachers
The tests aren’t educational, and they don’t prepare US for college
WE want our teachers to test us on what we’ve learned.