How to Teach the STAAR Math Reference Chart So Students Actually Use It

Every student who sits down for the STAAR math test has a reference chart on their desk. That STAAR math reference chart is a legitimate test tool — but only for the students who've been taught how to use it. Most barely look at it. Some look and can't find what they need. A handful actually use it effectively, and those students recover points that would otherwise be lost to forgotten formulas and misremembered conversions.

Here's how to teach the chart as a real tool, and when to start.

What the STAAR Math Reference Chart Actually Contains

The reference chart for each grade level includes formulas for area, perimeter, and volume of key shapes; unit conversions for both customary and metric systems; and, for higher grades, formulas like the Pythagorean theorem. The Algebra I chart adds the slope formula, quadratic formula, and formulas for arithmetic and geometric sequences.

What it doesn't include: integer rules, fraction operations, fraction-decimal-percent conversions, or arithmetic facts. Students who expect the chart to help with those are looking for something that isn't there.

This matters because a common misconception — among students and sometimes teachers — is that the reference chart removes the need to know formulas. It does, for the formulas on the chart. But students still need to know what formulas exist, what variables they contain, and how to apply them in context. The chart gives you the formula. It doesn't tell you which formula to use.

Action step: On the first day of any geometry or measurement unit, hand students a blank copy of the reference chart before you teach anything. Walk through it: "Here's what you'll have on test day. Here's what each formula means." Students who build a mental map of the chart early can navigate it under pressure. Students who've never really looked at it before February are at a disadvantage.

The Real Problem: Students Don't Know When to Use the Chart

I've watched students stare at the reference chart for 30 seconds and then guess or skip the problem entirely. The issue usually isn't that they can't read the chart. It's that they don't know they need it — or they can't identify which formula applies to the problem in front of them.

This happens because we often teach formulas separately from the contexts where they're applied. Students learn the area formula for a trapezoid in isolation. Then the STAAR gives them: "A park is shaped like a trapezoid with bases of 40 meters and 25 meters and a height of 15 meters. What is the area?" The student who learned the formula stalls because the test wrapped it in a word problem and a diagram, and they didn't recognize it as a trapezoid problem.

The fix is practicing the trigger before the formula. Before students reach for the chart, they need to answer: what shape is this? What am I solving for? Then look it up. The chart is step two, not step one.

Action step: Give students a set of mixed geometry word problems and have them identify the shape, identify what's being solved for, and write the formula name — all before they open the reference chart or start calculating. Identification first, formula second. This sequence makes the chart actually useful under timed conditions.

Unit Conversions: The Section Students Ignore

The unit conversion section is the most underused part of the reference chart. Students who don't remember that 1 mile = 5,280 feet often don't think to look it up. They'd rather guess than take five seconds to check.

Part of the problem is that conversions are taught early in the year and rarely revisited. By test day, students aren't in the habit of checking the chart for conversion factors because they've been trying to memorize them instead of learning to look them up.

A subtler issue: the chart gives you the conversion factor, but students still have to decide whether to multiply or divide. Knowing that 1 foot = 12 inches doesn't tell you whether to multiply or divide when converting 4.5 feet to inches. Students who don't have a clear decision rule will sometimes flip the operation and get the wrong answer even with the right conversion factor in hand.

Action step: Teach a simple decision rule alongside the chart: converting to smaller units, multiply; converting to larger units, divide. Pair this with explicit practice looking up the conversion factor from the chart and applying the rule. Students who have both the tool and the decision rule can handle conversion problems. Students who have only one or neither cannot.

How to Actually Practice Using the Reference Chart

The biggest mistake in preparing students for the reference chart is always teaching with it visible. If students can always see the chart, they never develop the skill of using it efficiently under pressure: knowing when to look, finding what they need quickly, and applying the formula correctly.

I used to hand out the reference chart at the start of every lesson that involved formulas. Students treated it as a security blanket. They'd scan it vaguely rather than navigate it with purpose. Their fluency stayed low because they never had to work without it.

What works better: alternate between practice with and without the chart. When students work without it, some will forget formulas — and that's useful diagnostic information. When they work with it, their job is to find the right formula fast and apply it correctly. Both skills matter on test day, and both need practice.

Action step: Two weeks before the STAAR, run a timed 5-question warm-up every day using only the reference chart — no notes, no formula sheets from class. Require students to look up every formula, even ones they've memorized. The goal is to build a fast, reliable habit of navigating the chart under test-like conditions.

Algebra I: The Chart Gets More Complicated

The Algebra I reference chart is longer than the middle school versions, and the formulas are less familiar. Students need to do everything 8th graders need to do — identify the right formula, find it quickly, apply it correctly — but the chart is bigger and the formulas require more setup before substituting.

One specific problem: students know the quadratic formula is on the chart and feel good about that. But they haven't practiced identifying a, b, and c from a quadratic equation before substituting. The formula is useless if you plug in the wrong values. The chart gives you the tool. It can't tell you how to use it.

Action step: For Algebra I, practice the reference chart with an explicit four-step sequence: (1) identify the problem type, (2) find the formula on the chart, (3) identify which values map to which variables in the formula, (4) substitute and calculate. Practiced in that sequence repeatedly, this becomes automatic before the STAAR.

What the Reference Chart Can't Fix

The chart helps students who understand underlying concepts but forgot the exact formula. It does nothing for students who don't know what a formula means, can't identify the shape or situation they're working with, or make computation errors after finding the right formula.

Students who skip geometry and measurement problems because they "don't know the formulas" are making a mistake — the formulas are right there. But students who look up the area formula for a circle and can't apply it because they don't understand what radius means, or who can't square a number correctly, won't recover those points from the chart.

This is why conceptual instruction still matters. The reference chart is a backup for forgetting, not a substitute for understanding. Students who genuinely understand area, volume, and linear relationships will use the chart as a resource and recover points. Students who never understood those concepts won't know which formula to look up — or won't be able to apply it when they find it.

Action step: During reference chart practice, pay attention to students who still get problems wrong after looking up the formula. Those students have a conceptual gap the chart can't close. They need targeted instruction on the underlying idea, not more navigation practice.

Start Earlier Than You Think You Need To

Introducing the reference chart the week before the STAAR doesn't work. Students need months of familiarity with it, not a crash course. Every time you teach a formula that appears on the reference chart, show students exactly where it lives on the chart. Make looking it up normal. By the time the STAAR arrives, the chart should be a familiar tool — not a document they've seen twice.

The reference chart is one of the few genuine advantages students have on the STAAR math test. The difference between a student who uses it well and a student who ignores it can be several points. Give your students the preparation to actually use it.