In the spring semester of each school year, the period of time for the dreaded standardized testing rolls back around. Starting in 3rd grade and continuing into 11th, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) requires public schools to administer the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) to their students in order to evaluate the progress of their learning.

STAAR has recently replaced the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) as the standardized testing program in the state of Texas. STAAR was developed to be essentially the same as TAKS at the primary school level, but at the secondary school level tests become more differentiated.

For students in high school, STAAR becomes End of Course (EOC) exams, which test a student’s knowledge of a specific course and ultimately add up to whether or not they can graduate. It is recommended for students to do their best on these tests, as they are not something to blow off.