More than 25 percent of Texas school districts were not able to meet the special education standards, which was set by the state in 2015, after the children were given a more rigorous test.
The results of the test this year could be a double burden to these districts, since the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness-Accommodated scores and the new test that many special education students must take will be counted to the district's overall state rating.
Among these districts across the states that failed to meet the 2014-15 special education requirements are six Central Texas school districts. The passing rates dropped to 60 percentage points, as reported by My Statesman.
While some of the school districts are doing their best to improve their performance, some school districts say they wish they can opt for the old test that is designed for the special education students who need more help.
The parents of those children who will face another round of STAAR in few weeks said that the special education students are set up to fail. This is because they did not allow the students the learning services that they can get instead of any other school assignment.
Last year, STAAR-Modified has been replaced with the STAAR-Accommodated as one of the primary tests that the special education students take after the federal requirements. Texas was one of the few states that still used a modified test. That test was shorter, had fewer answer choices, broke up reading passages and had lower passing standards.
The STAAR releases a new test with the same type of questionnaire as the old ones but instead of being in a paper-format, STAAR-Accommodated took it online and include some tools like higher and text-to-audio. The requirements for the test are also the same as the regular one.
Meanwhile, the test that was done online had some system glitches, according to a report. The Daily Dallas Morning News reports, on the other hand, that the school districts will decide whether the students that were affected by STAAR computer mess on Tuesday must re-take the exam.
