STAAR test scores are alarming, but they can help us improve Texas schools. Here’s how

With summer upon us, Texans are finalizing their vacation plans and heading out for a much-needed break. Seeking the best possible experience, people are looking at traffic patterns, flight times and hotel reviews. In other words, they are looking for data to guide them toward their future goals.

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, we can also use data to guide us to the best possible outcomes for our students. And that starts with assessments. Recently, the Texas Education Agency released the 2021 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, results, which confirmed that the pandemic resulted in a substantial setback in student learning.

The number of students not meeting grade-level standards increased across almost all subject areas and grade levels, with notable drops in math and reading achievement. The truth is that, even before the pandemic, STAAR results revealed a dire situation, with wide gaps in educational attainment linked to race, ethnicity and income. But they also pointed to potential solutions.

STAAR data provides key insights into what is working for students and, just as importantly, what isn’t. That makes it a crucial guidepost for getting students back on track.

Just as teachers use individual assessments to understand where students are and how to help them, STAAR tells school districts and state officials about how and where to target resources to ensure all students and teachers have the support they need to succeed.

For example, the across-the-board decline in STAAR math scores indicates that students did not receive enough sequential instruction time, something we can address by extending math instruction time.

STAAR results also indicate that students tended to do better when they had more in-person instruction, so we can direct resources to provide focused in-school tutoring from a highly trained teacher or aide to students that STAAR shows are most in need.

All Texans should find the declines in this year’s STAAR results unacceptable. But we cannot afford to blame the test, lower our expectations for student performance, or simply shrug this data off and seek to return to the pre-COVID status quo. Instead, we must leverage these results — and available federal stimulus money — to create transparent conversations with parents, teachers, students, and lawmakers around how we can put students on track for success. We can do that only thanks to STAAR.

Just as Texans would not expect to have a good summer vacation by blindly driving with no idea where they are going, we cannot expect to improve education outcomes without data on where our students are and where we need them to be. By taking the time to learn from assessments how our state is doing at the systemic level in the same way that teachers learn how every student is doing with individual assessments, we can ensure that our people are truly on a path to success.

We have one year until the next STAAR test. That’s one year to reach the next guidepost along this path towards success. I have confidence that Texas can reverse these disappointing trends because we have the data, intent, and historic resources to do so. It’s what’s necessary for our students to achieve their full potential.

If we fail to do so — whether by turning a blind eye to today’s data or delaying further assessments — we must be prepared to hold ourselves accountable. We owe it to our students, and their future economic success, to do this right, particularly with available federal funds and the Legislature’s financial commitments.

With good data and strategic deployment of resources, we can correct the direction that the pandemic has set our students on and ensure Texas’ greatest asset — our people — are prepared for the future.

Margaret Spellings is president and CEO of Texas 2036, a nonprofit organization focused on Texas’ long-term needs, and a former U.S. secretary of education.