STAAR is the test every Texas kid in public school sits for, and if you grew up here, the word alone probably makes your stomach drop a little. So it's one of the first questions new homeschool parents ask: do I have to give this to my kid now? The short answer is no. Here's the actual reason why, and why some families choose to test anyway.
The reason, in one sentence
A Texas homeschool is legally a private school, and Texas has never required private school students to take STAAR. That's it. STAAR is a public school accountability tool — it exists so the state can measure public school performance, not to certify individual kids. Since your homeschool isn't a public school, the whole requirement simply doesn't apply to you.
"Voluntary" is a real option, not a loophole
Since 1996, private schools — including homeschools — have been allowed to participate in STAAR and TELPAS on a purely voluntary basis. Nobody has to take you up on it. If a family wants a state-normed data point on where their kid stands, it's there. If they don't, that's equally fine and equally legal. There's no form to file either way, no exemption to request. You're not opting out of something you were ever opted into.
Nothing about Texas homeschool law requires you to prove anything to anyone. That includes STAAR.
So how do Texas homeschoolers know if their kid is on track?
This is the real question underneath "do I have to test," and it's a fair one — grades used to come with a report card, and now they don't. Families handle it a few different ways: some use an optional nationally-normed test (like the Iowa or CAT/5) purely for their own peace of mind, some rely on the curriculum's own built-in checkpoints and quizzes, and some just watch their kid work through material and know. None of these is more "official" than the others in the eyes of Texas law, because Texas doesn't require any of them.
What actually matters, legally, is the short list every Texas homeschool has to cover: reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship, taught in a bona fide (genuinely serious) manner. No test proves that. Teaching the material does.
Where Kitchen Table School fits
Mrs. M isn't a substitute for STAAR and doesn't pretend to be — that's not the job. What she does instead is simpler: every lesson, she can see exactly where your kid is right now in the material and adjusts the next lesson to meet them there, the same way a real tutor watching one kid work would. You get a running, honest picture of where your child stands without needing a standardized test to tell you. If you also want a nationally-normed test for your own records, nothing about using Mrs. M stops you — they're not in competition.
See where your kid actually stands, no test required
The free placement assessment shows you exactly what your child knows and where the gaps are — in one sitting, no bubble sheet. Founding families lock in $29/mo for as long as they stay.
Start with the free assessment