Linda Macias, Cy-Fair ISD's associate superintendent of curriculum, instruction and accountability, said the district has never been one that structures education around standardized testing.

“We’re not a district that is teaching to the test,” she said. “Our philosophy is that we have a great curriculum that includes the state standards, and we monitor our kids throughout the year to make sure they’re on track.”

Cy-Fair ISD students, along with others across the state, kicked off the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR tests, at the end of March. Testing will pick up again in May.

Fifth- and eighth-graders who do not meet the passing standard in the reading and math portions of the STAAR exam will be retained and repeat the same grade level the following year.

Those who do not pass the first test at the end of March have an opportunity to retake the exam in May, Macias said.

“They know they have to pass this test,” she said. “They have two opportunities to take the test, but that retention is hanging over their heads.”

Scores for all STAAR and end-of-course exams come back to the district at the end of April and throughout the month of May. Fifth- and eighth-graders who do not pass their exams will have the opportunity to take summer school, Macias said.

Texas students have been taking STAAR tests since 2012, but the controversial A-F accountability rating system, which goes into effect in August 2018, will change how the tests play into campus and district evaluations.

Macias said each of the first four domains created under the A-F system relates back to STAAR in some way.

Domain I measures how students performed on STAAR exams. Domain II measures the progress made year over year on the exams, and Domain III measures how well campuses close the achievement gap. The STAAR exam can ultimately affect Domain IV, which measures student readiness for postsecondary education, she said.

Schools are required to give the test to all students, and there is no option for parents to opt their children out of the process. Reading, writing, math, science and social studies make up the different components in the state accountability system, but Macias said students are assessed again federally in reading, math and science.

Several bills have been filed in the 85th legislative session focus on the A-F system, but others would change the way standardized testing works in Texas. House Bill 3104, for instance, would shift the responsibility of writing skills assessments to school districts.

HB 1321 would eliminate the requirement of students to pass the STAAR before moving on to the next grade level.

“We continue to advocate that we have one accountability system,” Macias said. “It’s important for us to know how our kids are doing in social studies and writing, but let the teachers who know the students evaluate that.”