The Texas Legislature sent House Bill (HB) 8 by Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado) to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature Sept. 4 after a contentious debate on the House floor. Educators and parents alike have good reasons to be skeptical of the bill, which increases mandatory state testing in grades 3 through 8 from 15 to 51 tests. However, the bill has some positive and other potentially positive aspects. Below we will take an unvarnished look at the most talked-about aspect of the bill and attempt to sort the rhetoric from the reality: Does HB 8 increase or decrease testing? 

You’ll hear many competing narratives about the impact of HB 8 on the amount of testing. For example, Buckley claims HB 8 will end “the high-stakes nature of one test, one day” in favor of three shorter tests at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. In reality, there are multiple ways to consider what the impact on testing will actually be.  

With regard to the number of state-mandated tests, there is simply no denying that HB 8 increases testing. In all, there is a 175% increase in the number of mandated tests, from 15 to 51 in grades 3-8. However, the number of end-of-course (EOC) exams is decreasing from five to four with the elimination of the English II test. 

The number of benchmark tests will vary by district 

When you consider current state-required and non-required tests combined, the picture is less clear. Thanks in large part to advocacy by ATPE, HB 8 does dramatically limit benchmark testing, with a near-total ban in grades 3 -8. Currently, most districts, especially larger school districts, locally require some level of benchmark testing. For example, the MAP test has in recent years become more prevalent, corresponding with the rise in adoption of the Teacher Incentive Allotment. MAP is taken three times per year. 

MAP is certainly not ubiquitous, however. Districts use both different assessments and different numbers of benchmarks, from zero up to the current limit of two benchmarks per STAAR test in grades 3-8 and one benchmark per EOC, not to exceed 10% of instructional days. For some districts, HB 8 may represent a slight decrease in overall testing compared with what is currently allowed under the law. For many districts, the amount of testing will not change; they will simply move from a locally mandated test to a state-mandated test. For other districts, those benchmarking once a year or not at all, HB 8’s mandated testing schedule will represent an increase in overall testing.  

It is worth noting the testing environment on most campuses differs significantly between optional local testing and state-mandated testing, largely due to security rules for state-mandated testing days. HB 8 does not change these rules, and they are expected to apply to the newly mandated beginning-of-year (BOY) and middle-of-year (MOY) testing dates. 

Will tests be shorter? Maybe 

Whether the number of tests overall is increasing or staying the same in your district, you’ve probably also heard that the new tests are going to be shorter. Again, the answer is more nuanced than the oft-used talking point would suggest. Looking at the BOY and MOY tests, there is currently no requirement to test at all, and something is always longer than nothing. Even if you look at the optional MAP test as the comparison point, MAP as currently designed would already fit inside HB 8’s limitations on test length. 

With regard to the end-of-year (EOY) test, current law already contains language designed to limit the length of STAAR. A STAAR test may have no more than three parts. The test should be designed such that 85% of third and fourth graders are able to finish each part in 60 minutes and fifth through eighth graders are able to finish each part in 75 minutes, for a maximum total of 180–225 minutes. Under HB 8, the math test must be designed such that the total assessment can be completed in 90–105 minutes (depending on grade level), or about half the total time allotted under current law. This is the same for science and social studies. For reading, the primary test must also follow the same length restrictions. However, HB 8 creates a separate writing administration, and it is unclear if that administration will receive an additional 90–105 minute allotment or if both the reading and writing administrations combined must fall within one 90–105 minute allotment.  

Where does that leave us: Do we have more or less testing under HB 8? 

To summarize: HB 8 absolutely requires more test administrations. The combined number of optional and required administrations under the current system is, for most grade levels, about the same number as the number of required administrations under the new system. The BOYs and MOYs are either longer or roughly the same length, depending on how you look at it, and the summative EOYs are shorter, with the possible exception of English/Language Arts once you consider both the reading and writing assessments. 

HB 8 does many things beyond modifying the length and schedule of state standardized testing. For example, the chairman’s quote at the top of this post references the high stakes attached to “one test, one day.” Under HB 8, the EOY is still the only test the A-F accountability system will rely on for the foreseeable future (per the bill, at least through the end of the decade). Many other aspects of the bill have been discussed in prior Teach the Vote posts, and we will likely cover even more in future posts. ATPE members with questions about the bill are encouraged to post those questions in the ATPE Online Community for a member of the ATPE Governmental Relations team to answer.