AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Students across the state of Texas have studied for months in preparation for the STAAR Exam, and bright and early Monday morning they put their knowledge to the test.
The STAAR Exam has transformed over the years from what was once the TAAS and then the TAKS. The state made more changes to the test in hopes of students doing more than simply filling in the blank beside the letter C. AISD District Core Coordinator Assignment Specialist for Social Studies Dedia Cearlock said the changes also bring attention to whether or not teachers are following the curriculum given to them by the state.
"STAAR tests what we are supposed to be teaching, our curriculum in the classroom, anyway. So, most of that's built in to the regular classroom time because that's where we're testing what we're supposed to be teaching- our curriculum from the state."
Is the STAAR truly more difficult than previous exams? Cearlock said yes.
"I think it's going to be substantially harder," she stated. "The questions themselves have a higher reading level with them. We know that the answer choices- in the past there was usually one or two questions that were multiple choice that you could kind of throw out. We know that there are, all answer choices have to be plausible.
Students spend months looking over information in relation to Social Studies, Language Arts, Math and Science. But what about people who finished school years ago or who never attended school? Could they pass the same exam? After throwing some questions at the general public, Pronews 7 learned many people would have problems with certain subject matters. Or perhaps it was simply because it had been years since they set foot inside a classroom.
Click here to try your luck at some STAAR Exam sample questions.
