STAAR Testing Suspended Because of Technical Issues Today

Public school districts throughout Texas were notified today that students taking the online version of the 2021 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness online tests who were having problems connecting to the test should put down their (virtual) pencils.

Students who didn't have problems were advised to continue to take the test. The online problems did not extend to those students who chose to take the STAAR test in person.

“We understand the frustration this has caused students, parents, teachers, and administrators,” the TEA said in its statement. “What happened today is completely unacceptable.”

This isn't the first time there have been problems with the online STAAR test. What adds to the problem this year is that because of the ongoing pandemic, so many students opted to go on line rather than show up on a school campus.

According to the TEA statement:  "ETS, the testing vendor, experienced problems with their database system, which are in the process of being corrected. The 2021 online administration of STAAR will be ETS’s last for the State of Texas. Beginning next school year, Cambium Assessment will be taking over these critical testing functions to ensure that users have a seamless online testing experience moving forward."