Will Virtual Students Still Have to Take the STAAR Exam?

The 2020/2021 school year has been unlike any previous school year we've had to deal with. The big question that is starting to pop up at this point has to do with the STAAR test. Is it still happening? If it is, how will it be given? One Texas Education Commissioner is saying that virtual students won't have to take the STAAR test. 

Mike Morath is one of the longest-serving education commissioners in Texas. He sat down with the Texas Tribune to answer questions about state of education in Texas during he pandemic. He was asked about the STAAR test and how it is going to affect parents and kids who continue to choose virtual learning. His response was:

If the family is still concerned that they need to remain for remote instruction, then they stay remote instruction that day and their kid won’t take the test and they won’t have access to that information. There will be a significant reduction in their ability to know where their children are.

Other comments from Morath show that he is pushing for live instruction though because he said that the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness will provide vital information for the state to assess where students are in their education, especially during the pandemic. On the flip side, it's being said that students that don't take the STAAR exam will not be punished.

It seems like they still don't know what they're going to do or how they should handle the situation. My big question is when are they going to finally lock in on an answer.