1. Choosing to Make A Difference! Chris Castillo Comer Director of Science Texas Education Agency TRC Director’s Meeting

2. 10/12/05 C.Comer NEW! Assessment Update  In spring 2006: TAKS-I tests (TAKS Inclusive) will be made available as replacements for the Locally Determined Alternate Assessments (LDAA);  TAKS-I is designed for those students working at or near grade level.  TAKS-I tests does not include embedded field test items  Modifications to the format of the test: larger font sizes, more white space will be made.

3. 10/12/05 C.Comer Assessment News  By 2007-2008: TAKS-M (TAKS Modified) and TAKS- ALT (TAKS Alternate) will be added  SDAAII as it currently exists will be phased out.  Letter dated September 7 th, 2005, which is posted on the Student Assessment website under the link “Letters to Districts” has more details.

4. 10/12/05 C.Comer Assessment Calendar  A revised Student Assessment Calendar for 2005-2006 is attached to the letter.  All Science TAKS tests will be given on Thursday, April 20, 2006  The Scale Score for all TAKS science tests is now at 2100!  Center for Academic and Reading Studies: designing a new study, probably to be conducted this year, for dyslexic students in Grade 7 and either Grade 10 or Grade 11.

5. 10/12/05 C.Comer Grade 8 Science TAKS:  Three year phase-in on 1st reading: 2 SEM’s for Met Standard in ’06 (Remember, TAKS will be released!): about 27/ 50 1 SEM for Met Standard in ’07: about 30 / 50 Panel Recommendation for Met Standard in ’08: about 33 / 50 Commended Performance will have no transition period: Scale Score: 2400 Keep a lookout for final decision after SBOE Oct 18 th meeting; we will send a list serve bulletin…

6. 10/12/05 C.Comer www.tea.state.tx.us/list/ Science List Serve:

7. 10/12/05 C.Comer Curriculum Changes Curriculum Changes  Changes were made to Mathematics TEKS,  ELA TEKS revision is going on now…  Science TEKS revision scheduled for ‘07

8. 10/12/05 C.Comer Meta-analysis of national research on science teaching Purpose: To define proven methods of student learning in science and to develop a publication designed to share that information with educators across the state. Texas A&M will publish this “blue book” to guide future science initiative efforts.

9. 10/12/05 C.Comer Texas Science Diagnostic System  The Texas Science Diagnostic System (TSDS) will be unveiled at the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teachers (CAST) Conference in Houston, Texas.  TSDS is a web-based tool designed to increase student proficiency in science developed by Vantage Learning

10. 10/12/05 C.Comer What is the Texas Science Diagnostic System?  The Texas Science Diagnostic System (TSDS) is available through the same interface as TMDS  It will be a tool that teachers can use to identify and remediate gaps in student performance in science.  TSDS is tailored for use in grades 4-5 at the elementary level, grades 6-8 at the middle school level, and the Integrated Physics and Chemistry (IPC) and Biology courses at the high school level.

11. 10/12/05 C.Comer Texas Science Diagnostic System…  The goal of the TEA is to provide teachers and administrators with an innovative tool to continuously evaluate student progress in science.  A flexible and user-friendly diagnostic instrument, TSDS is designed for multiple uses and will be intrinsically linked to the required Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) measured on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests.

12. 10/12/05 C.Comer What is the Texas Science Diagnostic System?  A series of preconfigured diagnostic tests is available within TSDS for online or paper delivery.  Immediate scoring and reporting will help science educators to develop and guide instruction accurately and efficiently.  Teachers will be able to access a bank containing thousands of test questions in order to create their own assessments, quizzes, and/or homework assignments.  Administrators can also use this item bank to create district or school-wide benchmark exams.

13. 10/12/05 C.Comer What is the Texas Science Diagnostic System?  In order to accommodate users with limited computer and Internet access, students will be able to take a paper and pencil test and then use the electronic bubble sheet to "click" in their answers directly into the program.  Teachers with access to scanning technology can scan penciled-in answer sheets directly into the system for reporting and tracking purposes. Thanks to the "state of the art" reporting capabilities of the program,  Teachers can obtain real time updates on student performance by grade and strand across the entire state, within each region, within each district and within each school.

14. 10/12/05 C.Comer Why do we need TSDS?  During the 1990s, many districts did not teach science at the elementary level, choosing instead to focus intensively on mathematics and reading.  Since many students did not receive science instruction, teachers needed a tool that could help guide their instructional practices in science to accommodate the varying knowledge levels of their students.  Without comprehensive knowledge about gaps in their students' science knowledge, teachers had a difficult time informing their science instruction.

15. 10/12/05 C.Comer How will TSDS benefit students?  A comprehensive, flexible tool that assesses students' knowledge and skills providing educators with a profile of student performance to effectively intervene to strengthen instructional programs.  Teachers can also identify areas needing early intervention to target instruction to  specific areas  customize science materials  design intervention strategies  create student portfolios, and  view and analyze student results over time.  TSDS will individualize science instruction to meet specific student needs, leading to a decrease in achievement gaps and ultimately ensuring student success, both academically and beyond!

16. 10/12/05 C.Comer TMDS: Texas Mathematics Diagnostic System  TMDS is now available FREE to all Texas public and charter schools through the Governor ’ s Math Initiative and the Texas Education Agency

17. 10/12/05 C.Comer Reporting Options  CAT Report! Once students take a CAT exam, teachers will be able to view their scaled score results in an online report complete with proficiency statements that will help teachers interpret their students' performance and current ability level. Coming soon!  Redesigned State Report! The main menu from which users select their reports has been improved and reformatted to allow an easy selection process to narrow down the type of report that is desired.  Expanded Reports for High School and Science! With the recent addition of high school level content as well as the forthcoming science content, all of the reports have been modified to accommodate the additional field choices and data results.

18. 10/12/05 C.Comer TMDS main web page: www.accesstmds.com

19. 10/12/05 C.Comer Example of class profile report teachers can create after administering a diagnostic to students. The report summarizes individual student performance by strand and aggregate class performance.

20. 10/12/05 C.Comer Teachers can drill down into individual student performance on a diagnostic and see graphical representations of performance by strand and can conduct item by item analysis of student performance. The System can compare performance on repeated assessment administrations as well.

21. 10/12/05 C.Comer Teachers can also see TEKS descriptions behind each question on an assessment.

22. 10/12/05 C.Comer  Improvements and features were added to TMDS with two major goals in mind:  to expand the program's diagnostic content and  to make the program even more user-friendly.  Science Training to Vantage lead to various improvements  User feedback was collected and thoroughly reviewed to identify the current application strengths and weaknesses in order to offer a number of enhancements in the following areas: TMDS and TSDS

23. 10/12/05 C.Comer  Two Programs in One! TMDS will have a science component available through the same homepage - the Texas Science Diagnostic System (TSDS). You will begin to see the science framework within the application immediately, while the item bank and test forms will be available early next year. Both TMDS and TSDS are free to all new and existing users and are based on the same, easy-to-use functionality.  Test Form E 2005-06! Over 40 new pre-configured tests will be available in both English and Spanish for mathematics gr 3-12 for use in both on and offline testing. All existing test forms will remain accessible within the application.  Diagnostic Content

24. 10/12/05 C.Comer Functionality Improvements  Difficulty Levels! All items in the bank have been tagged with their appropriate difficulty levels of easy, medium or hard.  Improved Search Ability! Fewer required fields to select before searching for items and users can now refine their search by language (English or Spanish) and by difficulty level (easy, medium or hard).  Archive Filter! Teachers can customize their group center by choosing to show only current groups, archived groups or a combination of both.

25. 10/12/05 C.Comer  Friendly User Interface! The homepage for TMDS has been given a major overhaul with bright, colorful graphics to promote the addition of TSDS and allow a single user interface for maximum usability. Users only need to remember one username and password!  Fun Icons! Rather than overwhelm teachers with several text options in their group and assignment centers, easy- to-understand icons represent the options available. Functionality Improvements

26. 10/12/05 C.Comer  Computer Adaptive Testing! Available in English for grades 4 - 8, Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) provides an extra option for diagnosing student ability level. Teachers may use CAT tests to quickly and accurately estimate the performance level of their students through a series of items chosen specifically during the test, based on the correctness or incorrectness of the student's answer.  Teacher Assessment Plan! This useful resource offers guidance and suggestions to teachers on how and when to use CAT and linear tests to help meet their specific goals. Example plans will be included along with worksheets for teachers to create their yearly assessment plan.  Coming soon!

27. 10/12/05 C.Comer How To Sign Up? Go to www.accesstmds.comwww.accesstmds.com and click on the “Sign Up To Use TMDS” button

28. 10/12/05 C.Comer 512-463-9581 Irene Pickhardt Asst. Dir. of Science irene.pickhardt@tea.state.tx.us Chris Castillo-Comer Director of Science chris.comer@tea.state.tx.us Contact Information