Every year, the California public school system imposes the STAR Test on elementary, middle, and high school students as a means of assessing the average progress in classrooms. Generally, teachers tend to take a break from regular material to prepare for the tests, which cover everything that the state deems standard for education. Students study English, math, history, and science for the STAR Tests. As a rule of thumb, most students find that there is not much new information to cover for each section; instead, it is almost strictly review. However, it does help for students to spend some time preparing for the STAR, as some of the material may not be easily recalled.

STAR testing is done toward the end of the school year, about a month before summer recess, so much of the information is covered early in the year and may be forgotten, especially for the history section, which is based on facts instead of general concepts, as in the cases of math and English. STAR testing is sometimes criticized as not be representative of what students ought to learn: some students take sciences out of the usual order, and some repeat math classes, which alters the average learning curve. However, as long as the STAR Test is in place in California, teachers strongly encourage students to do their best and score well in all subjects. Of course, the test reflects directly on the school and the teacher, and higher scores indicate better instruction. Furthermore, the break from regular material that STAR Test preparation offers allows students a great chance to catch up on old material or to get ahead on future subjects. Studying for the STAR Test also greatly reinforces what students have already learned, as well, which certainly improves retention and comprehension. Although the STAR Test may be flawed, at the very least it encourages students to study and reinforce all of their completed work.