If the student in your life is preparing to take a STAAR exam, Varsity Tutors can connect you with qualified STAAR tutors in as little as 24 hours. The STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) exams measure how much grade-appropriate information a student has absorbed over the previous school year. Students take anywhere from 2-4 STAAR exams each year in grades 3-12, with optional exams in Algebra II and English III at the high school level. We can help you connect with a STAAR tutor today, so reach out to us today to get the process started.
What are the STAAR exams?
Each STAAR exam measures the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards in key academic fields such as mathematics, reading, writing, science, and social studies. Students are not scored via letter or number grades. Instead, scores are reported according to how well a student measures up to the standards for their grade level. The possible grades on a STAAR exam are as follows: Did Not Meet (age-appropriate TEKS standards), Approaches Grade Level or Higher, Meets Grade Level or Higher, and Masters. Passing the STAAR exams is a prerequisite to earning a high school diploma in the state of Texas, so it is important for your student to take these tests seriously.
Which exams your student takes depends on how old they are. Reading and Mathematics assessments are taken each year from grades 3-8, with additional assessments in Writing (grades 4 and 7), Science (grades 5 and 8), and Social Studies (grade 8) at certain grade levels. Once a student reaches high school, STAAR exams adopt an EOC (End Of Course) format at the conclusion of select high school classes such as U.S. History, Biology, Algebra I, English I, and English II. Each exam has a unique format and structure, meaning that students will be kept on their toes for the duration of their public school careers.
What are some of the benefits of working with professional STAAR tutors?
A private instructor can design study sessions around your student's individual needs. If your fifth-grader excels in mathematics but has a harder time with reading, they may be best served by concentrating on the Reading exam during their STAAR tutoring sessions. If the opposite is true, they can concentrate on the Math STAAR to improve their study efficiency.
A STAAR tutor can also design study sessions around your student's learning style to help them make the most of time spent studying. If your student is a visual learner, they might use visual aids such as counting cubes, flashcards, and graphics to illustrate key concepts in their mind. Auditory learners wouldn't get the same benefit from these tools, so their instructor might make a recording of key information to help it stick. If your student is a kinesthetic learner, their instructor can design hands-on sessions to keep their pupil engaged for the duration. For example, completing an at-home experiment can help bring a scientific concept to life.
A private instructor also allows your student to learn at their own pace. If your student gets bored during their session, their concentration could lapse and their performance could slip. In this scenario, their instructor can introduce new material more quickly to make study sessions feel more engaging. Alternatively, a student who is struggling can slow down and review additional examples and explanations to develop a more complete understanding of a challenging concept.
Studying in a one-on-one learning environment also provides several advantages. Your student will be their instructor's sole priority during their STAAR tutoring sessions, ensuring that any questions they have can be answered promptly. If your student is on the shy side, they may also feel more comfortable asking somebody they have established a personal rapport with than a classroom teacher they only see for a few minutes a day. Similarly, all of your student's work can receive prompt feedback so that they can correct any mistakes while the material remains fresh in their mind.
Your student can also go over valuable study skills that they can utilize on the STAAR exams as well as their future endeavors. For example, let's say that your student has a hard time expressing themselves in writing. Their instructor may show them how to sketch a quick outline to ensure that their essays on the Writing STAAR exams follow a coherent structure. Working from an outline gives students a point of reference if they forget what they wanted to say next, potentially saving a lot of valuable time. It can also help ensure that a student remembers to include all of the information they originally intended. Outlining remains a useful skill on college entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT, undergraduate studies, grad-level course work, and even professional communications. Your student might learn it for a STAAR test, but they can use it long after they exited the public school system.
Similarly, a student who could remember more of what they read might practice active reading skills for a Reading STAAR. Taking notes as you go along promotes more active engagement with the material, helping you remember more of it than if you read it more passively. Your student can also jot down any questions they have about a text so that they remember to ask about it when the opportunity presents itself. This is certainly a useful skill on STAAR exams, but it's also useful during undergraduate research, reading professional documents, and even to pursue reading as a hobby.
There are several other skills a STAAR tutor can teach as well, including organization, studying, and communication. If you're interested in helping your student secure a brighter future, getting them a private instructor could prove to be a wise investment.
Can STAAR tutors help my student with test prep?
Absolutely. Many students take practice exams under realistic test-taking conditions during their STAAR tutoring sessions to develop a familiarity with what they can expect to see on test day. If your student deals with test anxiety, understanding exactly what is going to happen may help reduce it. If they're still apprehensive, their instructor may show them mindfulness techniques such as meditation to help them calm down.
Time management is an important skill on nearly any high-stakes exam, and experiencing the time available to you firsthand is often one of the best ways to learn how to manage it. If your student is having a hard time finishing a practice test within the allotted time frame, their instructor may share helpful time management strategies to help them pick up the pace.
Understanding how an exam words questions can also make it easier to leverage an exam against itself. Most of the STAAR exams utilize multiple-choice formats, meaning that it's possible for students to deduce a correct answer by eliminating incorrect answer choices, even if they are unsure of the correct response. Some items may even contain enough information to answer something else on the test. This may not happen often, but your student could get a jolt of self-confidence if they discover the answer to a question that they otherwise could have missed.
Your student might also go over their answers with their instructor to identify their academic strengths as well as any areas that could benefit from further work. Focusing on your academic weaknesses is one great way to enhance your study efficacy. Perhaps more importantly, your student may feel proud of their stronger performance on topics that they once had a harder time with.
What makes Varsity Tutors such a powerful resource?
Trying to find your own instructor can be tough, as you need to independently verify that a candidate actually knows about the STAAR your student is preparing for, understands how to effectively convey information to younger students, and offers the scheduling flexibility to suit your needs. In contrast, we can find you a qualified instructor in less than a day, taking the hassle out of searching for a private instructor.
Our exclusive Live Learning Platform also facilitates digital study sessions, so your student can receive face-to-face instruction without having to commute anywhere. That's right - you don't need to deal with traffic or a last-minute scramble to clean the house just so your student can attend a study session. Our platform also offers handy features such as a virtual whiteboard and video chat functionality, ensuring that you are not comprising effectiveness for a more convenient study experience.
You are also in complete control over when every session takes place, allowing your student to continue pursuing any extracurricular activities they enjoy while also studying for a test. If they have basketball practice every day after school, we'll find you an instructor who can work with them on the weekends. If you'd prefer to keep Sundays open for family time, sessions can take place on Saturday instead. The choice is completely up to you.
What are you waiting for? Reach out to a knowledgeable Educational Consultant using the contact info provided on this page to learn more about how Varsity Tutors can find you certified STAAR tutors. You'll be glad you did!
