Award-Winning STAAR Tutors

The STAAR, or State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, is an exam that tests your child to ensure that he or she has been taught and understands the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards in core subjects such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. All public school students in Texas from grades three through twelve take the STAAR. STAAR tests are given in the spring and can be administered online or on paper. The number of tests your child takes each year will depend on what grade he or she is in. Most students will have two to four testing days during the 180-day school year. STAAR tests are given to students at their own school, in regular classrooms that have been cleared and set up to make it easy to focus on the test. If students have certain special needs and require special accommodations, they may be tested in a different area of the school.

Many children have trouble during standardized tests. Working with a qualified STAAR tutor can be a huge asset when making sure your child is ready to take their exams.

How can working with a STAAR tutor help my child prepare for his or her STAAR exam?

When Varsity Tutors connects you to a STAAR tutor, the tutor has a unique opportunity to work with your child in a one-on-one setting, which can be hard to find even in the best schools. By getting to know your child, a STAAR tutor can make sure to cater STAAR tutoring sessions to fit your child's exact needs. STAAR tutors can do this by taking into account the student's strengths, weaknesses, and personal learning style while creating their lesson plans. If your child is a visual learner, your STAAR tutor can show video or use infographics and charts. Tutors working with kinesthetic learners can make sure to administer lots of hands-on activities, such as role play or getting up and moving around. If your child is an auditory learner, a STAAR tutor may instead lecture and then ask students to repeat info back to them so the student is hearing the info in his or her own voice. No matter how your child learns best, STAAR tutoring sessions can be structured to break down information in a way that will be most easily understood.

What subject will my child be expected to know for the STAAR exam?

The STAAR exam tests several core subjects. The exact subject your child will be tested on depends on his or her grade level. The following chart is an overview of which subjects each grade is tested on:

STAAR Exams Overview

* English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology and U.S history. English III and Algebra II are also available as optional exams.

Your child's STAAR tutor can work with your child to make sure the proper subjects are being studied for his or her particular grade level.

What other benefits can my child gain when working with a STAAR tutor?

STAAR tutoring can ensure efficient, effective, and even enjoyable study sessions. Many children find standardized testing to be difficult and worry about their scores and how those scores will affect their academic careers. When working with STAAR tutors, you can be confident that your child is not wasting time studying third grade science when he or she should actually only be focusing on math. A STAAR tutor can move at your child's pace and provide immediate feedback during sessions. When your child and their tutor develop a good working relationship, your child can feel confident when asking questions about anything that is confusing.

Your child's tutor can also go over the format of the various STAAR exams, helping your child know exactly what to expect on test day. For example, if your child is in eighth grade, the private instructor may explain exactly what to expect on the eighth-grade math test. Your child may spend STAAR tutoring sessions working on practice exams. Here is an overview of what your eighth grader can expect on the STAAR math test, which takes four hours to complete:

STAAR Grade 8 Math Overview

• Time Limit: 4 hours
• 42 questions
  • 38 multiple-choice
  • 4 grid in
• Content Areas
  • Numerical Representations and Relationships
    • 4 questions
    • Number and operations. The student applies mathematical process standards to represent and use real numbers in a variety of forms.
  • Computations and Algebraic Relationships
    • 16 questions
    • Proportionality. The student applies mathematical process standards to explain proportional and non-proportional relationships involving slope. The student applies mathematical process standards to use proportional and non-proportional relationships to develop foundational concepts of functions.
    • Expressions, equations, and relationships. The student applies mathematical process standards to use one-variable equations or inequalities in problem situations. The student applies mathematical process standards to use multiple representations to develop foundational concepts of simultaneous linear equations.
  • Geometry and Measurement
    • 15 questions
    • Proportionality. The student applies mathematical process standards to use proportional relationships to describe dilations.
    • Expressions, equations, and relationships. The student applies mathematical process standards to develop mathematical relationships and make connections to geometric formulas. The student applies mathematical process standards to use geometry to solve problems. The student applies mathematical process standards to use one-variable equations or inequalities in problem situations.
    • Two-dimensional shapes. The student applies mathematical process standards to develop transformational geometry concepts.
  • Data Analysis and Personal Financial Literacy
    • 7 questions
    • Proportionality. The student applies mathematical process standards to use proportional and non-proportional relationships to develop foundational concepts of functions.
    • Measurement and data. The student applies mathematical process standards to use statistical procedures to describe data.
    • Personal financial literacy. The student applies mathematical process standards to develop an economic way of thinking and problem solving useful in one's life as a knowledgeable consumer and investor.

Can STAAR tutoring help specifically with test preparation skills?

Yes! Working with a tutor can help you with more than just STAAR subjects. When you work with a private tutor, they guide you through various practice quizzes and tests. This will help you assess not only their core subject skills but will also help your student learn the format that they can expect when taking their STAAR test. Your child's tutor can make sure that he or she understands how to use the process of elimination on hard questions and how to make sure answers are clearly marked. Using tricks like the process of elimination can help your child understand how to answer questions quickly but also correctly. This is a time management skill that can be used on any standardized exam. Additionally, many students struggle with test day anxiety. If this is an area your child struggles with, his or her tutor can make sure to teach tips and tricks to reduce your nerves on test day. This is another set of skills that can be used throughout one's entire academic journey.

Some of the STAAR exams test students on EOC (end of course) skills. These exams are available at the high school level for courses such as English I, English II, Algebra I, Biology and U.S history. English III and Algebra II are also available as optional exams. As an example, students can take an EOC course on U.S. History. This exam tests students on more than 100 TEKS standards. The following section shows what a U.S. History EOC exam will look like:

STAAR US History EOC Overview

• Maximum Time: 4 hours
• 68 questions
  • Multiple-choice
• Content Areas
  • History
    • 30 questions
    • Sample Topics
      
      • U.S. history from 1877 to the present.
      • The emergence of the United States as a world power between 1898 and 1920.
      • Domestic and international impact of U.S. participation in World War II.
      • American civil rights movement.
      • Political, economic, and social issues of the United States from the 1990s into the 21st century.
  • Geography and Culture
    • 12 questions
    • Sample Topics
      • Impact of geographic factors on major events.
      • Relationship between population growth and modernization on the physical environment.
      • How people from various groups contribute to our national identity.
  • Government and Citizenship
    • 10 questions
    • Sample Topics
      • Changing relationships among the three branches of the federal government.
      • Impact of constitutional issues on American society.
      • Importance of effective leadership in a constitutional republic.
  • Economics, Science, Technology, and Society
    • 16 questions
    • Sample Topics
      • Significant economic developments between World War I and World War II.
      • Economic effects of increased worldwide interdependence as the United States enters the 21st century.
      • Influence of scientific discoveries, technological innovations, and the free enterprise system on the standard of living in the United States.

How does STAAR testing work?

STAAR tests assess your child's level of proficiency in the subject he or she is being tested on. The basic score on any test is the raw score, which is simply the number of questions correct. You can interpret a raw score only in terms of a particular set of test questions. Unlike raw scores, you can interpret scale scores across different sets of test questions. Scale scores allow direct comparisons of student performance between specific sets of test questions from different test administrations. A scale score is a conversion of the raw score onto a scale that is common to all test forms for that assessment. The scale score takes into account the difficulty level of the specific set of questions based on the test. It quantifies a student's performance relative to the passing standards or proficiency levels.

To put it simply, your child's scores will not be calculated using a typical A-F grading scale. Instead, your child's score will reflect whether your child has understood the subjects he or she has been taught. Your child will receive one of the following scores: Did Not Meet, Approaches Grade Level or Higher, Meets Grade Level or Higher, and Masters. These scores reflect your child's understanding of the various topics found in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards.

Here is a look at some previous STAAR scores as an example:

STAAR Scoring Results Spring 2018

Is it important to use "STAAR tutors near me?"

As convenient as "STAAR tutoring near me" sounds, the reality is that not all areas will have a qualified instructor nearby to meet with your child for STAAR test preparation and studying. This is why it is smart to let Varsity Tutors help you connect with a tutor who can help you with your child's exact needs. Tutors will make every effort to meet with your child within your particular schedule. By using our online learning platform, your child has the interesting opportunity to meet with your tutor who can come from anywhere. If your child is too busy with after-school sports and other extracurricular activities, he or she can meet with the instructor on a less busy day or on the weekends. If weekends are filled with clubs, family time, or a job, your student's tutor will make every effort to meet with him or her during weekday evenings. Since your child will be meeting the tutor online, tutoring sessions can occur wherever a computer and high-speed internet are located. This allows your child to receive face-to-face tutoring in the local library, while hanging out at their favorite coffee shop, or even at home in his or her favorite pair of pajamas. By taking advantage of online tutoring, there is no reason why you can't get started today.

Stop searching for "STAAR tutor near me!" Instead, give our Education Consultants at Varsity Tutors a call and let us help you connect your child to a STAAR tutor today.