STAAR test remains in place after legislative reform effort fails

The STAAR test will remain the cornerstone of Texas public school assessments after a last-minute breakdown in negotiations killed a widely supported effort to overhaul the system.

House Bill 4, championed by state Rep. Brad Buckley (R-Killeen), aimed to replace the single, high-pressure STAAR exam with three shorter tests administered throughout the school year. Advocates for the bill hoped this change would reduce stress on students and provide a more accurate picture of their academic progress. But despite early bipartisan agreement that the current system needed reform, stark differences between the House and Senate over the future of school accountability proved insurmountable.

The bill’s collapse came over the weekend as lawmakers failed to strike a deal before a critical legislative deadline, dashing hopes for testing reform this session.

A Shared Goal, Divided Path

At the heart of the breakdown were competing visions of how Texas should measure school performance. While both chambers agreed STAAR should go, they diverged on how to redesign the A–F accountability system that uses standardized tests to grade schools and districts.

The Senate version of the bill proposed granting more power to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) commissioner, allowing the agency to tighten performance standards and take swift action against districts that challenge the ratings system in court. In fact, under the Senate's proposal, districts that file lawsuits could face the appointment of a TEA conservator—a move widely viewed as punitive.

In contrast, the House version, shaped by input from superintendents and school leaders, pushed for greater legislative oversight. It would have required the TEA to get approval from lawmakers before making significant changes to the ratings system and preserved school districts’ right to challenge the agency in court, though through an expedited legal process designed to avoid delays in releasing ratings.

Lawsuits and Mistrust

The dispute is rooted in recent legal challenges to the TEA’s ratings system, which have caused two years of school performance scores to be tied up in litigation. Many district leaders have criticized the ratings as arbitrary and overly reliant on standardized testing, prompting the push for a more collaborative and transparent approach.

But tensions rose as the Senate took a hardline stance, criticizing school districts for “weaponizing” lawsuits against the state. This tone chilled dialogue between lawmakers and school officials—many of whom chose not to testify at Senate hearings and instead worked with House members behind the scenes.

By the time the House introduced its revised version of the bill, informed by school leaders' concerns, time had nearly run out. With only days left in the session, the Senate and House were unable to bridge their differences.

Fallout and Reactions

Educators and advocacy groups expressed disappointment at the Legislature’s failure to act—but some breathed a sigh of relief that the Senate’s version of the bill did not become law.

“We think we are better off that there is no bill at all than what the Senate wanted to do,” said Clay Robison, spokesperson for the Texas State Teachers Association. “We thought the Senate gave far too much authority to the unelected state commissioner.”

The group has long argued that STAAR testing pulls valuable time away from instruction and doesn’t truly reflect student learning. Still, the continued use of STAAR means those concerns remain unresolved for now.

What’s Next?

With the legislative session over, the status quo remains. Students will continue to take the STAAR test as usual, and the TEA retains its current authority over how school ratings are calculated—at least until the next legislative opportunity.

Despite this session’s failure, momentum for reform has not disappeared. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle signaled interest in revisiting the issue, and school districts are likely to continue pressing for changes to both testing and accountability standards.

For now, though, the STAAR test survives—unchanged, and still controversial.