In-home STAAR test prep in Dallas for reading and math

What is the STAAR test in Texas, and what grades take it?

STAAR stands for State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. STAAR testing happens each spring in Texas public schools, to check what students learned that year. Most students take it on a computer. Students in 3rd through 8th grade take reading and math every year, plus science in 5th and 8th grade and social studies in 8th. In high school, students take end-of-course exams, called EOCs, including one for Algebra I.

Which STAAR tests we prep for: reading and math

Of those tests, our STAAR prep covers STAAR reading and STAAR math in grades 3 to 8, the subjects we tutor at those grades. We don't prep for STAAR science, social studies, or the high school end-of-course exams. High school students can still get tutoring in Algebra 1 and Geometry, and help with homework in other subjects.

Why steady skill work helps more than cramming before STAAR

Gaps matter on STAAR because each question checks this year's skills, and many lean on skills from earlier grades. Picture a 5th grader on a word problem about 6 shelves with 8 books on each. She knows to multiply. But 6 times 8 still takes her a minute of counting on her fingers, and by the time she reaches 48, she has lost track of what the question asked. Reading works the same way: a child who reads slowly spends their effort on the passage and has less left for the questions.

Of course, practice with STAAR-style questions helps a child know what to expect on test day. But a stack of practice tests in the last few weeks tends to show the same gaps again. Closing a gap means teaching the earlier skill and practicing it until it comes easily. That's why your tutor starts at your child's current level, with custom materials made for their gaps.

STAAR prep for kids with ADHD and autism

Test day also asks a child to stay with one long task in a quiet room. For many children with ADHD or autism, building that focus is part of the work.

Cedar Elm was founded by Mariya Zakir, a former Registered Behavior Technician who spent a year working one-on-one with autistic children at an ABA clinic and 3 years tutoring at a tutoring center. Our sessions use ABA-informed strategies she learned at the clinic. For younger children and kids who need more breaks, work runs in 5 to 10 minute blocks with planned breaks, and your tutor praises finished work and uses small rewards.

The small print on this worksheet is a note to the tutor, written for one boy: "He can point or circle to answer." Your tutor plans around how your child best shows what they know. If your child's IEP or 504 plan lists testing supports, such as extra time or breaks, your tutor practices with those same supports, the way your child gets them at school.