By Ashley Bean Thornton

The first STAAR test was in 2012. It has done three things for us:

1. It’s reminded us that kids growing up with less have a harder time on tests. (We already knew that!)

2. It’s sapped the joy out of learning for kids — and out of teaching for teachers.

3. And it’s cost us a whole lot of money.

What it hasn’t done is help our kids learn more or help our teachers teach better.

We can do better.

Here’s what I think would help:

1. Reduce the number of TEKs for elementary grades.

We are overwhelming kindergarten and elementary teachers and students with hundreds of standards (TEKs) to cover, forcing them to race through content without ensuring deep understanding. We should streamline early-grade standards to focus on fewer, more developmentally appropriate, essential skills—allowing teachers to teach for mastery, not just coverage

2. Streamline the number of required standardized tests.

We require students to take dozens of standardized tests from grades 3-12. Testing and test prep, create “test fatigue” and take valuable time away from actual learning. We should streamline testing to only what’s truly necessary for accountability, giving teachers more time to teach and students more time to learn deeply.

3. Focus standardized tests on measuring foundational skills.

We use standardized tests to measure everything from basic reading to complex analysis, even though standardized tests aren’t good at measuring higher-order thinking. We should focus our use of standardized tests on measuring foundational skills like reading comprehension and math fluency—things they actually measure well.

4. Use multiple methods to measure critical thinking and advanced skills.

We try to reduce critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving to multiple-choice questions. But standardized tests do not do a good job of measuring these complex abilities. We should use portfolios, projects, presentations, classwork, class discussion, essays and performance tasks at the teacher’s discretion to grow and assess the advanced skills students need for college and careers.

5. Get rid of A-F ratings. Report growth and achievement, not just ratings.

The success or failure of a school is too complicated to be described in a single rating. Labeling schools and districts with a single A-F grade gives the illusion of clarity, but is actually misleading. It ignores, for example, the important progress students are making year over year. We should discard A-F and report both achievement levels AND growth measures. This gives a more complete view of learning.

6. Quit moving the goal posts.

We change testing standards, cut scores, and accountability rules so frequently that schools can’t develop effective long-term improvement strategies, or see how much progress they are making. We should keep accountability goals and measures stable for at least 5 years so educators can implement research-based practices and see real results.

7. When schools need help, provide real support – not just more paperwork.

We respond to struggling schools not with real help, but by requiring more reports, audits, improvement plans and compliance documents. We should provide struggling schools with coaching, resources, proven intervention programs, and additional staff and funding—real support that changes outcomes.

8. Consider steady improvement in take-over decisions.

We trigger state takeovers after multiple years of low ratings, even when a school has been showing steady improvement but hasn’t crossed the “passing” line yet.

We should consider clear upward trends and allow schools that are consistently improving to continue their work with added support, reserving takeovers for campuses that are stagnant or declining.

I think these practical upgrades would make a huge difference in supporting our teachers, putting the emphasis back on learning instead of testing, and ultimately helping more of our kids get the foundation they need for learning the rest of their lives. If you agree, I hope you will vote for me, Ashley Bean Thornton, for The Texas House.