Houston Matters
The pros and cons of the STAAR test going online
Posted on · While some teachers have reservations about the now fully online STAAR exam, their anxiety may be offset by younger students’ relief.
Tag: STAAR Test
Houston Matters
Election bills in the legislature (March 9, 2023)
Posted on · On Thursday's show: We learn about two bills that would return management of elections to elected officials -- but only in Texas counties with populations greater than a million.
Education
Harris County expands mobile library program with addition of fourth ‘Curiosity Cruiser’
Posted on · The Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, with financial support from companies and charitable organizations, donated and outfitted the new mobile library, which will provide books for children as well as STEM educational programming.
Houston Matters
What STAAR Test Results Tell Us About Learning During The Pandemic (June 30, 2021)
Posted on · On Wednesday's show: What STAAR Test results tell us about the pandemic's effect on education, the week in politics, and one way the pandemic might've been good for our brains.
Houston Matters
Blasting Houston Leaders Over Opposition To New Voting Bills: The Good, Bad, And Ugly Of The News
Posted on · The Houston Matters panel of non-experts weighs in on stories from the week’s news and decides if they’re good, bad, or ugly.
Houston Matters
Technical Issues On The First Day Of STAAR Testing (April 8, 2021)
Posted on · On Thursday's show: STAAR Test technical issues, what Latino parents want in a new HISD Superintendent, drugs in Texas prisons, previewing a new lunar lander and its Houston control center, and bidding farewell to News 88.7's Laura Isensee.
Houston Matters
Teachers Protest Over Conditions, Testing, And Funding Amid The Pandemic (Dec. 15, 2020)
Posted on · On Tuesday's show: A teacher explains why she and her fellow educators are protesting over the situation they face in the pandemic, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher answers your questions, and we discuss how the Biden administration might affect the environment.
Education News
Texas High School Students To Return To Campus For State’s End-Of-Course Exams
Posted on · The pandemic has upended school as most kids and teachers know it in Texas. But one part of the school year could proceed as normal: standardized testing, also known as STAAR.
Houston Matters
Thursday’s Show: Examining The STAAR Test, And Houston’s Best New Restaurants (Dec. 5, 2019)
Posted on · On Thursday's Houston Matters: The results from a state-ordered study of this year’s STAAR exams, the best new restaurants of 2019, how human exploration has changed civilization, and local fashion designer Alan Gonzalez discusses his appearance on the new season of Project Runway.
Education News
TEA Slated To Commission Independent Study On STAAR Reading Level
Posted on · The study will be peer reviewed and presented in public.
Education
Are The STAAR Tests Too Hard? Critics Rally For A Closer Look
Posted on · As students sit down to take the STAAR test, state lawmakers are questioning whether the test may be too difficult.
News
More Standardized Testing Woes In Texas? A High-Performing School Says Over 100 Students Got Zeros On Essays
Posted on · The Texas Education Agency and the state's main testing vendor are investigating how more than 100 students in a high-performing Houston-area high school received zeros on their English essays.
Houston Matters
Full Show: Student Voices On School Safety, And New ‘Right-To-Try’ Law (June 11, 2018)
Posted on · On Monday's Houston Matters: Student activists want their voices heard in a new school safety committee. We learn about some errors on recent STAAR tests. We discuss new federal legislation giving terminally ill patients the right to try experimental drugs. Veterinarian Dr. Lori Teller answers questions about your pets. And we get an update on Houston sports.
Good, Bad and Ugly
City Budget Passes and Houston Drinks More Than Chicago: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Houston News
Posted on · A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week's news, we turn to our rotating panel of "non-experts" to parse The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of it all. On this edition, we discuss: The […]
Houston Matters
Opting Out of the STAAR Test: What Are the Consequences?
Posted on · HISD says students who miss the STAAR test this year because their parents choose to have them opt out will not be disciplined. Nevertheless, will a growing opt-out movement make any difference in the purpose, value and impact of the annual standardized test? To find out, Paige Phelps talked with school psychologist Sarah Becker and […]