Special Education Assessment Update

Cari Wieland Texas Education Agency Student Assessment Division

STAAR Modified STAAR Alternate Accommodations for the STAAR Program Wrap Up and Questions

EOC Subjects Tested for STAAR Modified 4 EnglishMathScienceSocial Studies English I 2012 Algebra I 2012 Biology 2012 World Geography 2012 English II 2012 Geometry 2012 ChemistryWorld History 2013 English III 2014 Algebra IIPhysicsU.S. History 2014

Commissioner’s Rule Change Basic issue - Courses substituted for EOC courses Change to language – Courses aligned to those for which they substitute Goes into effect August 2011 – specific PEIMS codes are now available.

The Issue of Rigor 6 Goal of STAAR is to increase rigor (“fewer, deeper, clearer” ) Focuses on fewer skills Addresses those skills in a deeper manner Provides a more clearly articulated assessment program So… How can we increase rigor from TAKS-M and TAKS-Alt but still create modified and alternate STAAR tests?

Start with a More Rigorous Test 7 High school end-of-course tests will include questions that are subject-specific, not grade-specific STAAR tests will be longer STAAR tests will most likely have higher passing standards

STAAR Alternate and Modified 8 15% Course Grade Recommendation to the Commissioner will be that it not apply – Need confirmation Cumulative Score and Minimum Score will be that it not apply College and Career Readiness Performance Level Descriptions are in progress (includes appropriate references to post-secondary readiness)

STAAR Alternate

Teachers must view and pass the qualifications for all 4 new training modules before administering the assessment Teachers provided 2 opportunities to pass at 80%. After additional training with a supervisor the teacher can be given one more opportunity Only combinations of Level 3 and 2 allowed within a subject. Level 1 tasks must stay at ALL level 1 tasks within a subject.

STAAR Alternate Tasks are identified as transition if the task relates to how the skill would be used in the community once the student leaves public school. Only two completed observations are allowed for the primary observation and only two completed observations are allowed for the generalization observation. Generalization can only be demonstrated with a change of materials.

STAAR Alternate The assessment observation must use new materials than were used during instruction to make sure that students are demonstrating skills and not just repeating the same response they gave during instruction. No points for a prompted Demonstration of Skill performance are given. Page 1 of the documentation form for the one attempted observation per student is required for all NRO designations.

STAAR Modified

TAKS-M Modifications Guidelines that will remain in STAAR Modified 14 All Tests Fewer questions Only 3 answer choices Verdana font and larger point size, more white space Simplified sentence structure, vocabulary, and graphics in passages/questions Delete extraneous information when appropriate Direct student attention to graphics when appropriate

STAAR features that will directly impact Modified 15 Reading, English, Writing Will assess different genres since the curriculum is now genre- based Will include multiple written compositions for students to respond to Written compositions will include different modes of writing depending upon the grade level Test questions will be geared toward higher order thinking skills Social Studies Social studies skills (Obj. 5 or 6) will no longer be tested in isolation, but will be embedded into other objectives resulting in more complex questions Questions will require a deeper understanding of concepts

16 Science Process skills (Obj. 1) will no longer be tested in isolation, but will be embedded into other objectives resulting in more complex questions Questions will be developed at a higher level, as reflected in the new science curriculum Math Problem-solving skills (Obj. 6 or 10) will no longer be tested in isolation, but will be embedded into other objectives resulting in more complex questions Will include more questions that require multiple steps with more than one operation STAAR features that will directly impact Modified

Accommodations

2011–2012 Accommodations Manual 18 Will not be a “Manual” as we have known it – wait for policies to be posted before training Policies will be posted as separate links as they are finalized Will address both grades 3–8 and EOC

2011–2012 Accommodations Policies 19 Current discussions on accommodation policy regarding: Inclusion of Section 504 in more accommodations Supplemental Aids – SpEd only Oral Administration – standardized options Electronic Devices (as well as increased information about high tech assistive technology) Read aloud test questions and answer choices vs. no DBA Timed tests – extra time vs. extra days

2011–2012 Accommodations Policies 20 Online Accommodation Request Form only Faxing ARFS only in special circumstances Documentation for accommodations that require TEA review should be noted as “pending TEA approval.” This is especially important for STAAR accommodations since accommodation policy is under development.

Related Issues

TAKS (Accommodated)… to be or not to be? Not to be… No separate accommodated form for STAAR Build some accommodations in to the general form (verdana font, items go across page rather than in columns, more white space) Specific accommodations with criteria Dictionaries, calculation devices, spelling assistance, manipulatives, supplemental aids New ways of collecting accommodations used on answer documents

QUESTIONS?