After 12 years of teaching public school in the Rio Grande Valley, my classroom has become my comfort zone.
Within those walls, I’ve witnessed hundreds of teenagers navigate friendships, work part-time jobs, and tackle the monumental task of defining themselves.
But the reality is that our schools face systemic challenges that reach far beyond the walls of any single classroom.
The majority of my students are Newcomer Emergent Bilinguals adapting to a new country, a new language, and a new school simultaneously. Despite these hurdles, my students aren’t afraid of accountability, and neither am I. They take the same state exams as every other student in Texas, but they bring something to the room that a standardized test cannot detect: resilience, power, and hope.
For these students, education is about more than just learning a language; it is about having the tools to share their story with the world. Watching them strive to find their voice drives my own determination to speak up for them. They deserve a voice that reaches far beyond our school hallways.
We are trained to see each student as an individual and tailor instruction to their needs. Yet the state’s testing and A-F accountability system treats our students like data points and asks them to prove their entire worth through a series of clicks in a single sitting.
I see this disconnect even more clearly now that I am experiencing education from the other side of the desk as a parent. Advocacy is no longer just a professional goal; it is deeply personal. Whether for my students or my own children, this work is an investment in our future that cannot be rushed or measured in a single day.
The summer 2025 passage of House Bill 8 means Texas will replace the STAAR test with a new standardized testing system beginning in the 2027-28 school year, and A-F ratings will still be in place. HB 8 may change the name of the test and the number of tests a student is required to take, but these changes do not solve the problem; it feels like rearranging the furniture when we should be rethinking the foundation.
We talk a lot about how the state should “Measure What Matters,” and it is most certainly time to move “Beyond the Falling STAAR.” We need an accountability system that reflects student growth, multiple measures of learning, and the whole child.
When campus ratings, community perception, and state funding are all tied to tests, we miss the real story: the development of our future employees, small business owners, and leaders. Public education should matter to everyone, whether or not you have a child enrolled.
In the education world, in order to truly “Measure What Matters,” we need an accountability system that looks at the whole child.
Through my involvement with the Raise Your Hand Texas Advocacy Core Team, I’ve had the opportunity to step outside my classroom and into conversations in my local community and the halls of our State Capitol. Speaking to lawmakers and community leaders pushed me far outside my comfort zone. As a natural introvert, I am most at home among my students, not in the halls of power. But I am inspired by them every day.
If my students find the courage to share their stories, the very least I can do is step forward and raise my hand for them. And I hope others across the Valley will join me in doing the same. Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, a business owner, or community leader, all of us should stand together for our schools and the students who are counting on us.
Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Lucila Lopez, a high school teacher based in the Rio Grande Valley. The column appears in the Rio Grande Guardian with the permission of the author.
