A big part of my confusion comes from the use of norm-referenced tests. For my middle school student, the NRTs used were the Terra Nova test in mathematics and the Stanford 10 reading test.

The STAAR's technical documents reveal that the test is designed much like a norm-referenced test – that is, assessing students relative to their peers, rather than if they meet a fixed standard.

Once the bill headed to the Senate, they made several changes to H-B 4, one of which included changing it back to a criterion-referenced test. “For a norm-referenced test, you are compared to ...

While a criterion-referenced test determines if students have mastered specific skills, a norm-referenced test, as called for in HB 4, gives teachers an idea of how students performed compared to ...

Texas children’s performance on an annual reading test was basically flat from 2012 to 2021, even as the state spent billions of additional dollars on K-12 education.

Math teacher Becky McLaughlin presides over a STAAR prep session for 7th graders at Blocker Middle School in Texas City on March 24, 2017.

House Bill 4 would have replaced the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness test with three nationally norm-referenced tests, which lawmakers hoped would give teachers real-time ...

Editor’s note: A correction was issued to reflect the House took a preliminary step to eliminating the STAAR test. AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas House of Representatives took one more step ...

Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are improving By Jeanne Sinclair , Memorial University of Newfoundland Updated May 31, 2025 9:03 a.m.

The House also eliminated a mandatory standardized test on social studies, while the Senate chose to retain it. Students’ STAAR performance is a key metric in the state's ratings of school ...