Texas education officials want to move state-required standardized tests digitally by 2022, costing school districts millions more collectively each year.
The Texas Education Agency and commissioned by state leaders, belive school districts would make a one-time payment of about $4 million total to improve internet connectivity and around $13.4 million more annually for increased bandwidth and staff training. Many of the districts that need to increase funding are small and rural.
That investment would allow nearly all students to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, online by the 2022-23 school year. That excludes students who may need paper tests due to disabilities or other special cases.
Around 13% of STAAR tests were administered online by 2018-19.