Cindy Blair Director of Testing 2017 Accommodations Cindy Blair Director of Testing

Campus Responsibility This training does not take the place of reading the associated documents located on the TEA’s Accommodation Resources webpage. Campus staff will need to read all of the policies and related resources once they are posted. Accommodations, or supports, are changes to materials or procedures that enable students to access learning and testing. It is important to keep in mind that while some accommodations may be appropriate for instructional use, they may not be appropriate or allowable on a statewide assessment. 

Accommodations = Designated Supports Should be individualized to address the specific needs of each student Are not necessary for every student Might be appropriate for classroom use but might not be appropriate or allowed for use on a state assessment Are not changes to the performance criteria or the content Should be evaluated regularly to determine effectiveness and to help plan for accommodations the student will need each year Are not intended to provide an advantage to a student Should be documented in the appropriate student paperwork Should not be provided to a student without evidence of effectiveness from year to year

Policy Documents Contain the information needed to make accommodation decisions for all students taking STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and TELPAS Each document is organized the same way Description of Accommodation Assessments Student Eligibility Criteria Authority for Decision and Required Documentation Examples/Types Special Instructions/Considerations

Policy Documents This section provides a general description of the accommodation. There will be an icon noting if an Accommodation Request Form is or is not needed TEA approval is NOT required. TEA approval IS required. Accommodations may be used by eligible students only on the assessments listed in this section. In addition, this section may indicate whether the accommodation is available on paper, online, or both.

Policy Documents This section lists the eligibility criteria that must be met in order for the student to use the Designated Support on a state assessment. Only the committees listed in the Authority for Decision section can consider the eligibility for a student. Depending on the accommodation, the eligibility may be very general or very specific. All accommodations require that the student use the accommodation routinely, independently (if applicable), and effectively.

Policy Documents This section describes who can make accommodation decisions for students, where to document these decisions, and what to record on the answer document. Each of these bullets are NOT found on every Designated Support, meaning that not all students can be considered for all accommodations. There are five teams that can make the decision based on the student’s program ARDC for students being serviced by Special Education 504 committee for students being serviced Section 504 LPAC for students who are ELL (receiving services) RTI team for students identified Student Assistance Team

Policy Documents This section describes the specific examples or types of the accommodation that may be used on the state assessment. Pay careful attention to this list because it is sometimes exhaustive. Only list on documentation the item(s) student will use, not all examples. This section outlines special instructions and considerations about the accommodation that educators must be aware of when making the decisions to use the accommodation and administering the assessment with the accommodation.

SAISD E11Administrative Procedure III TEST ASSIGNMENTS AND ACCOMMODATION Notification Deadline: In order to organize, plan, and ensure correct state assessment assignments and accommodations, there is an established deadline for test assignments and all accommodations. ALL special program students’ test assignments and accommodations MUST be assigned three weeks prior to state testing. The ONLY applicable exceptions are for students NEW to the district or who have NEWLY qualified for a program. 2. The principal will ensure that ALL coordinators of special programs (Special Education, Bilingual/ESL, RtI/Dyslexia/504) on each campus provide the CTC accurate testing information (i.e. test type, language, accommodations, instructional levels, etc.) pertaining to special student populations at least three weeks prior to a state testing date.

Accommodations What was The Triangle Which committee makes the decision? ARDC, 504 or RTI ARDC or 504 ARDC

Accommodations What they are now New organization of accommodation policy Accessibility Features Formally known as “Allowable Test Administration Procedures and Materials” These are items available to any student based on need, such as color overlays, reminders to stay on task, scratch paper, highlighters… New addition is Bilingual Dictionary for math, science, or social studies (simple word and phases, no definitions or examples) Designated Supports Formally known as Type 1 - (locally approved based on accommodation policy) Designated Supports Requiring TEA Approval Formally known as Type 2

Designated Supports Locally approved

Designated Supports with ONE Student Eligibility Criterion A student may use these accommodations if he or she routinely and effectively uses them during classroom instruction and classroom testing. Same as Last Year Change from Last Year Individualized Structured Reminders Manipulating Test Material Amplification Devices Basic Transcribing Projection Devices Dictionary Braille

Designated Supports with ONE Eligibility Criterion: Assessments Available on STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and TELPAS Individualized Structured Reminders Amplification Devices Projection Devices Basic Transcribing Manipulating Test Material Available on STAAR Braille Available on STAAR and STAAR Spanish grades 3-5 reading and writing tests Dictionary Refer to the specific policy document for a list of examples/types and for the special instructions/considerations.

Designated Supports with More than ONE Eligibility Criterion EXTRA TIME LARGE PRINT ORAL/SIGNED ADMINISTRATION CONTENT SUPPORTS LANGUAGE AND VOCABULARY SUPPORTS SPELLING ASSISTANCE CALCULATION AIDS MATHEMATICS MANIPULATIVES SUPPLEMENTAL AIDS

Oral/Signed Administration Paper Tests Online Tests STAAR and STAAR Spanish math, science, social studies Questions, reference materials, and accommodations may be read aloud by test administrator STAAR math, science, social studies Questions and embedded supports can be read aloud by text-to-speech (TTS) Reference materials and accommodations may be read aloud by test administrator STAAR and STAAR Spanish reading and English I-III reading section STAAR reading and English I-III reading section Questions and embedded supports can be read aloud by TTS STAAR and STAAR Spanish writing and English I-III writing section Required reference materials and accommodations may be read aloud by test administrator STAAR writing and English I-III writing section Revising passages, revising questions, and embedded supports can be read aloud by TTS

Notable Changes Linguistic accommodations are now included in Accessibility and Designated Supports (see policy documents for authorization) Calculation Aides now include addition and multiplication charts (used to be under supplemental aides). Will limit use for grades 3 and 4. Oral/Signed Administration now includes current ELL and clarification between the support differences between on-line or paper administrations Supplemental Aids now includes ELL based on LPAC decisions. Removed addition and multiplication charts as allowable aides – moved to Calculation Aides See all policy documents when posted for full eligibility,

Notes All students now take STAAR, STAAR Spanish, or STAAR Alternate 2. All students can take an on-line STAAR test but must be eligible for: Text to Speech (TTS), Language and Vocabulary Support (LS), or Content Support (CS). Format of assessment is based on individual student needs and eligibility. Headphones are needed for any student who has TTS. There is no longer a 3 year limit on ELLs for linguistic accommodation during testing Evidence of reading difficulties must be documented for students not receiving special education or Section 504 services to be eligible for an oral administration District will define what the documentation will be

District Documentation This form needs to be completed by any committee that meets to assign STAAR accommodations. The authorized committee will be in accordance with the TEA guidance. The document must be completed and signed by the campus or district representative and provided to the CTC with 24 hours of the meeting. The CTC is responsible for checking that the accommodations are in Test Hound. The CTC will complete the Accommodation Envelope for each student prior to assessments.

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