STAAR Scores

STAAR scores have come in and I am sure you are all anxious to see how your child has done!  I know that I am beyond proud of how far my students have come this year and could not be prouder of how hard they worked on the two days of testing.  With that said, there will be cases when a student has not passed one or both of the tests.  It is important to understand that not meeting the standard of passing does NOT mean that your child is a failure or that they will not advance to fourth grade.  Not passing does not mean that your child has remained stagnant throughout the year.  In my class, we discuss reasons that a grade may not have met the standard: had a bad morning, fell asleep, still have areas to work on, etc.  I also like to focus on the positive.  "You may have missed half of the questions, but you got half right as well!" or "You got 25 right - that is wonderful!"  These tests are difficult (checkpoints and STAAR), much more so than when I was a student, and my students rise to the occasion every time, whether they pass or fail.  They are diligent, hard-working children who I am extremely proud to claim as my third grade students.  I have loved each and every day with your children and will miss the day when I am no longer their teacher.  Their score on the STAAR test, whether advanced or not having met the standard, changes nothing about the way I view your child.  I see your child as the wonderful, bright, sweet third grader that I know and love.  I see your child as the student that can now quickly find the rule of a table, answer triple step math problems, and infer from reading passages with "the best of the 'em."  I am SO proud.  The scores show areas that can be improved upon, but by no means show that children are failures.  On the same note, I hope that the score, advanced or not meeting standard, does not change the way you view me as your child's teacher.  There is so much more to a school year than a test score collected from two days of testing in April.

I feel that Paul Jones, the superintendent of Paris ISD, said it best:

"These results should be considered as one of many instruments used to measure your child's growth, not the end-all of your child's learning for the year. These assessments do not reflect the quality of teaching or learning in our classrooms. Instead, they reflect a punitive; one size fits all test-driven system. Our students are much more than a once-a-year pencil and bubble sheet test. Your child means immeasurably more than just a number generated in Austin. There is no test that can assess all of what makes each child unique. The state mandated assessments are used by the state to score and rank our campuses and our district; however, this is not the only assessment we use.

Your child's achievements must be measured by a multitude of accomplishments throughout the year. Your individual child's academic growth is what is important, and we assess your child's growth from the start of the school year to the end of the school year. In contrast, your child is assessed by the state with a criterion-referenced test (STAAR), which assesses how your child performs on a single day and uses those results to compare your child to a predetermined standard set by bureaucrats in Austin and a testing company headquartered in London, England. We all know students do not master skills at the same rate; each individual child has their strengths and weaknesses. This single test cannot measure what we know about your child.

The data from this assessment will help us know when to offer enrichment or intervention, we will use the state assessment for the purpose the original assessment system was created--a diagnostic tool for identifying areas of concern as well as strengths.

Let's not let the STAAR test overshadow what is truly important--each individual child. Let us not forget to celebrate the vast and numerous accomplishments and successes of the students.”

Scores will be sent home on Tuesday and if your child did not meet the passing standard, I will contact you on Tuesday afternoon.  Again, I am so proud of all of my students.  I cannot explain my pride in their growth and I cannot wait to see what my sweet students do in the future.

The Proudest Third Grade Teacher in All of Texas,

Ms. Butts