Texas educators demand halt to in-person state standardized testing Last week, the state of Texas sent tens of thousands of students to schools in order to take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test, a standardized annual exam. The Texas Education Agency plans to send students back to take STAAR tests in April and May, when even by optimistic estimates children and young adults will likely still be waiting to be vaccinated. We, the Texas Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, categorically oppose the plans for standardized testing in May and denounce the recent tests as a grave threat to the lives and well-being of Texas students, educators, and their families. A quick look at last year’s STAAR English I and II examinations reveals the extent of the health danger; in 2019 over 200,000 pupils took the exams, with over 460,000 taking them in May.