Towards the end of the school year, Texas public schools’ academic focus shifts towards the annual state STAAR testing. While these tests are portrayed as being of the utmost importance, they are rarely taken seriously by the majority of students by the time they reach high school.

However, this doesn’t mean that STAAR testing is unimportant. Although standardized testing has become a controversial way to measure students’ intelligence and successes across a school year, STAAR testing remains a yearly occurrence for a multitude of reasons.

While state testing scores are never taken for an actual grade or shown to out of state colleges, attempting to score as high as possible can be incredibly beneficial for a student to see themselves. Even if scores may be disregarded by teachers and future professors, the STAAR test is arguably the most stress free way for a student to measure their skills and intellectual improvement across a school year.

Moreover, while it’s untrue that a poor performance on the STAAR test can cause a student to be held back a grade level, actually sitting down in the testing room and attempting to complete the test is required. Unless a student is successfully opted out of the test by a parent or guardian, they have no choice.

Considering their lack of say in the matter, students might as well at least try to reap the benefits of performing to the best of their abilities on the STAAR test each year.