Dallas Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde told a theater full of educators on Tuesday that Texas could be “standing on the precipice” of eliminating the STAAR test.
During her annual State of the District address, Elizalde lauded a legislative proposal to scrap the state’s much-derided standardized test and replace it with a series of shorter exams that would be given to students throughout the year.
Doing so, Elizalde said, would give teachers “actionable data so that we can turbocharge academic growth for each and every one of our students.”
“I don’t know if it’ll happen this session,” the superintendent acknowledged. “But we’ve never been closer, and I won’t stop advocating for you.”
The hundreds of educators and community members who joined her in the Winspear Opera House theater cheered.
Related:Will Texas scrap the STAAR? Lawmakers debate replacing the test with three shorter exams
In its current form, House Bill 4 would replace the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness with three tests spaced out between the start and end of the school year.
Lawmakers in support of the measure say it would relieve pressure on students and empower teachers to better tailor their strategies to improve kids’ learning. Parents, teachers and students have told the legislature for years how much they hate STAAR.
House Bill 4 is far from the finish line, with less than a month left in the legislative session.
Elizalde’s comments came as a group of civic and business leaders sent a letter to state officials expressing concern with some of the elements of proposed accountability reform.
This isn’t the first time Elizalde has used her State of the District speech to speak out against the way Texas approaches standardized testing.
In her 2023 address, she declared that teaching to the test was “officially dead” in Dallas ISD.
Related:Teaching to the test is ‘officially dead’ in Dallas schools, superintendent says
That mindset has worked at New Tech High School, which embraces project-based learning, Principal Channel Hutchinson said. Students are encouraged to pursue projects that solve real-world problems and are aligned with their interests.
New Tech is focused on meeting academic accountability standards, but also wants learning to be holistic based on the students’ needs, Hutchinson said.
“This generation wants their voices to be heard,” said Hutchinson, who was honored Tuesday night as a DISD principal of the year.
Elizalde praised students in the district for their range of talents. She celebrated the teenagers who graduate DISD with college credits and certifications that will prepare them for high-demand jobs. And she cheered for the kids who sang, danced and played their instruments on the Winspear’s stage during the night’s event.
“Kids are more, much more – as we have witnessed this evening – much more than one standardized test,” she said.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
