A STAAR Is Born Starring Criss Cloudt As Associate Commissioner, Assessment and Accountability, And Gloria Zyskowski As Division Director, Student Assessment,

STAAR New assessment program for – grades 3–8 – high school Begins this year September 2011Texas Education Agency 2

The basics For grades 3–8, STAAR tests are in same grades and subjects as TAKS.  3–8 mathematics  3–8 reading  4 and 7 writing  5 and 8 science  8 social studies For high school, twelve STAAR end-of-course tests replace ten grade-level tests. September 2011Texas Education Agency3

How did we get here? Many choices had to be made Numerous avenues to seek advice from the field were pursued Hard decisions were made that honored the intent of the legislation Texas Education Agency7/18/20164

TEA Choices Assessed curriculum Rigor of assessment Performance standards Testing burden – Test Development – Test Administration – Test Scoring Texas Education Agency7/18/20165

TEA Choices Assessments for English language learners Assessments for students served by special education Measures of student progress Texas Education Agency7/18/20166

Legislative Choices: Non-negotiable realities High school course-based testing Link between performance on EOC assessments and course grades Testing requirements and cumulative score requirements for graduation Testing schedule Review of performance standards Collaboration with higher education Timeline for implementation Reduced funding at state and local levels Texas Education Agency7/18/20167

But what is it???? “Info about STAAR exam slow in coming” “The staar is administered about what 6times a year? Maybe more... I'm not quite sure but I know its alot.” “Texas schools using XXXXXXXX make AYP because of dramatic improvements on the STAAR Tests. “ Texas Education Agency7/18/20168

Putting some myths to rest Lots of misinformation going around BUT Lots of accurate information is also available Texas Education Agency7/18/20169

STAAR Resources Page 7/18/201610Texas Education Agency

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True or false? Districts haven’t seen the STAAR tests yet. 7/18/201613Texas Education Agency TRUE But when have you ever seen the tests before they’re administered?

True or false? The sample items released by TEA are bad items that they didn’t want to use on real tests. 7/18/201614Texas Education Agency FALSE The released items are valid test questions pulled from the item development that could have appeared on the STAAR tests.

True or false? My child passed STAAR. 7/18/201615Texas Education Agency FALSE See previous slide. The tests haven’t been administered yet. Local benchmarks are being mistaken for the state assessments.

True or false? Test prep materials have been proven to increase scores on STAAR. 7/18/201616Texas Education Agency FALSE No product has been shown to increase scores on STAAR because no scores on STAAR have been reported yet. The only guaranteed preparation for success is strong instruction in the required curriculum.

True or false? TEA is waiting to see how well students do on the tests before telling us how many items students have to answer correctly to pass the tests. 7/18/201617Texas Education Agency FALSE Performance standards on the EOC assessments will be set at the end of February; grades 3-8 standards will be set in October. Performance standards are not based on number of items correct.

True or false? STAAR is going to be really, really hard. 7/18/201618Texas Education Agency FALSE STAAR will be more rigorous than TAKS, but content is 100% tied to the required curriculum. The state is not building tests that nobody can pass.

True or false? The 15% rule will be waived for the first year of STAAR. 7/18/201619Texas Education Agency FALSE This legislative requirement is contained in § 39 of the TEC so it cannot be waived.

What can I do to feel less anxious? You’ve already taken a big step – you’re here at the assessment conference. Numerous sessions have been designed to provide information to make you feel better prepared for the STAAR administrations. 7/18/201620Texas Education Agency

Analysis and Reporting More Z to A: Setting the STAAR Cut Points - Tues| 10:15 a.m. STAAR Scoring and Reporting - Tues| 1:00 p.m. STAAR Answer Documents-What's New - Tues| 4:15 p.m. STAAR Answer Documents-What's New - Wed| 9:30 a.m. [REPEAT] Texas Education Agency7/18/201621

English Language Learners (ELLs) Assessing ELLs with STAAR – Tues | 8:30 a.m. ELL Assessment Update - Tues| 1:00 p.m. TELPAS for Spring 2012: What You Need to Know – Tues | 2:45 p.m. Mathematics & Science Assessments From TAKS to STAAR: Math Test Questions – Mon | 9:10 a.m. (M) From TAKS to STAAR: Science Test Questions – Mon | 10:15 a.m. (M) TEA Math Update – Mon | 2:45 p.m. TEA Science Update – Tues | 10:15 a.m. 7/18/201622Texas Education Agency

Special Education Assessments Accommodations for Students with Disabilities – Mon | 2:45 p.m. Introducing STAAR Modified – Mon | 4:15 p.m. TAKS-M to STAAR Modified: Changes to the Modified Test Questions - Part I (Grades 3-8) – Tues | 9:10 a.m. (M) TAKS-M to STAAR Modified: Changes to the Modified Test Questions - Part 2 (High School) – Tues | 10:15 a.m. (M) STAAR Alternate Administration Process – Tues | 4:15 p.m. Results from STAAR Modified Written Composition Study – Tues | 4:55 p.m. (M) Accommodations for Students with Disabilities – Wed | 9:30 a.m. [REPEAT] 7/18/201623Texas Education Agency

Reading, Writing, & ELA Assessments STAAR 4 and 7 Writing: Getting Ready for 2012– Mon | 2:45 p.m. STAAR English I, II, and III Writing: Getting Students and Teachers Ready – Tues | 8:30 a.m. STAAR Reading: …Connections between Assessment and Instruction in Grades 3-8 – Tues | 1:00 p.m. STAAR English I, II, and III Reading: Getting Students and Teachers Ready – Tues | 1:00 p.m. Social Studies Assessments STAAR Social Studies: Connecting the New STAAR Test Design with the New Social Studies Curriculum – Tues | 4:15 p.m. 7/18/201624Texas Education Agency

Test Administration Technology Strategies for Online Testing – Mon | 4:15 p.m. NAEP - Evolving and Changing – Tues | 8:30 a.m. Conducting Thorough Investigations Part 1 – Tues |2:45 p.m. (M) Conducting Thorough Investigations Part 2 – Tues |3:25 p.m. (M) Test Security Update – Wed | 8:00 a.m. Accountability/Performance Reporting Dropout, Completion, & Grad Rate Reporting - Mon| 4:15 p.m. Update on State/Federal Accountability -Tues| 2:45 p.m. AP Participation & Performance - Wed| 8:00 a.m. 7/18/201625Texas Education Agency

Bottom line Change is scary. We’ve done this before. We all care about the same thing 7/18/201626Texas Education Agency

The children of Texas 7/18/201627Texas Education Agency

Choices for reconsideration after initial implementation TEA choices – Testing calendar – Time limits – Accommodations policies Legislative non-negotiable realities up for consideration in 2013 legislative session 7/18/201628Texas Education Agency

In closing 7/18/201629Texas Education Agency