The state of Texas will implement its latest standardized test for public school students this spring, but not without a few tweaks to how and when exam scores count toward overall course grades.

State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness exams begin in March. Starting with this year's ninth-graders, high school students must take a total of 12 end-of-course exams over three years and receive a cumulative passing score to graduate. Under state legislation, school districts must count the end-of-course exam score as 15 percent of the student's grade in the class.

Leander ISD, among other districts across the state, was in the midst of determining the best way to implement this policy when Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott announced in late February the agency would defer the 15 percent rule for the first year of STAAR testing.

"Giving school districts and charter schools the local option to use end-of-course assessment performance to calculate the course grade should help reduce some of the confusion and provide a smoother transition to the STAAR," Scott said in a letter to school administrators.

In the weeks leading up to Scott's announcement, the Leander ISD school board discussed whether the 15 percent rule would apply to a student's grade point average. The school board was prepared to vote on excluding the STAAR end-of-course exam grade from students' GPAs until two legislators—state Rep. Rob Eissler R-District 15 and state Sen. Florence Shapiro R-District 8—petitioned the TEA and Scott to do away with the 15 percent rule this year.

Superintendent Bret Champion said it would be unfair for a student's end-of-course exam grade to count toward his or her GPA because of the way Leander ISD measures credits. Each semester of a core class is worth half a credit.

"The reason for that is so that if a kid fails first or second half, the kid doesn't have to take a whole year, just take part of the course he didn't pass," Champion said. "The EOC exam covers the whole course, but where do you apply that 15 percent? Do you distribute half to each semester, or only the second semester, which would mean 30 percent of the grade for half the course? There's no logic there."

Champion said using the STAAR end-of-course exam score towards a student's official rank and GPA puts some kids in double jeopardy. A low end-of-course exam score could mean a student must retake a semester he or she passed.

"I am so pleased with decisions to defer this rule" he said. "Freshman students were going into a system this year where they didn't know what the rules were."

The state does not regulate if the STAAR end-of-course exam score is included in a student's GPA, leaving room for inconsistency among school districts.

"It makes absolutely no sense across districts if you're trying to compare," said Pam Waggoner, Leander ISD board vice president, in February.

Ninth-graders will still take STAAR exams, and their grades will be included in calculating the cumulative average before graduation. Students in younger grades take STAAR tests, but not end-of-course exams in each subject like high school students.

In March, Champion notified the TEA of the district's plan to defer the 15 percent rule this school year.

"I really don't want to wait until a year from now to talk about this with the board. Pretty soon we need to bring it forward before the 2013 school year," Champion said. "My plan is certainly for them to tackle it before the school year starts."

Correction: The original story stated STAAR exams begin in April. Testing starts at the end of March.