For most composite structures, because of the uncertainty in some design variables, it is not possible to predict precisely the stresses during design stage. Therefore, monitoring the structural responses in service becomes crucial for structure with concerns, e.g., the composite panels on an airplane, etc. In this study, the strains at neighboring points of the interested location on surfaces of the laminate, along with the classical laminate theory and the higher-order shear deformation theory, are used to predict the interlaminar shear stresses in the cross-ply laminate. Several numerical examples using the simulated surface strains are employed to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed technique. It is found that the approach using the higher-order shear deformation theory has improved accuracy for the analysis of thick symmetric laminate over the approach using the classical laminate theory.