We will be offering a session for administrators and teachers to come and understand Index 2 and the importance of increasing progress of students. We will work together as a team to help you and your campus understand and pull in T-TESS. Check out the video below for more information.
https://youtu.be/kKM4Lc7SaU0
Thursday, September 15, 2016
SUBJECT: Important Changes to the Texas Assessment Program for the 2016–2017 School Year
Additional
Flexibility Available in Online Administrations to Begin in March 2017
Beginning with the March 2017 administration of STAAR,
students with disabilities and English language learners (ELLs) who are eligible
for testing accommodations may receive those accommodations through an enhanced
online version of STAAR. In addition to three types of embedded accommodations
(text-to-speech, language and vocabulary supports, and content supports) that
can be assigned on an individual student basis, the online version of STAAR
will include enhanced accessibility features that are available to all
students. These enhancements will allow all students to take the same online
test form and eliminate the need for separate STAAR A and STAAR L test forms
going forward. Therefore, STAAR A and STAAR L will both be administered for the
last time in December 2016. This change also allows districts who choose to do
so, to administer all grades and subjects of the general STAAR (English version
only) tests online to any or all of their students.
Within the next several days, the Texas Education Agency
(TEA) will provide districts with preliminary guidance regarding students with
disabilities whose individualized education programs (IEPs) or Section 504
plans reflect that they are to take STAAR A in spring 2017. As language
proficiency assessment committee (LPAC) decisions are made in the spring of the
school year, changes regarding STAAR L will be discussed in the LPAC Guide to Decision
Making that will be released in December 2016. In addition, TEA will hold a
TETN in late September to discuss these changes in greater detail.
Districts will begin to receive information this fall on how
the changes will affect registration, online testing, scoring, and reporting.
Districts will have opportunities to attend training on the changes to the
STAAR Assessment Management System and the STAAR Online Testing Platform.
SUBSTITUTE ASSESSMENTS FOR STAAR
Prior to the
spring 2017 administration of STAAR end-of-course (EOC) assessments, TEA
intends to update the allowable substitute assessments and cut scores that can
be used in place of the STAAR EOCs to meet graduation requirements. TEA is
examining the degree of content overlap between the Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills and the following national tests:
·
the
SAT suite of assessments (PSAT 8/9, 10, NMSQT, and the SAT)
·
the
ACT and the ACT Aspire
After completion
of the content overlap studies, TEA will determine what tests will be allowed
as substitute assessments for graduation, along with the score requirement for
each approved substitute.
Regarding the
ACT, SAT, and PSAT, current Texas Administrative Code reflects those tests
administered prior to the 2015–2016 school year. TEA anticipates no changes for
the other currently approved substitutes (AP, IB, PLAN, and the TSI
assessment).
REDESIGN OF STAAR CONFIDENTIAL STUDENT REPORTS
The STAAR Confidential Student Reports (CSRs) will be
redesigned this fall, and the new reports will be available beginning with the
spring 2017 STAAR administrations.
CHANGES TO THE LENGTH OF THE STAAR ASSESSMENTS BASED
ON HOUSE BILL 743
In order to comply with the mandates of House Bill 743, the
STAAR assessments will be shortened so that 85 percent of students will be able
to complete the assessment instrument within two hours in grades 3–5 and within
three hours in grades 6–8. The STAAR assessments will include both operational
and field-test items.
2017
RELEASE TEST PLAN
In August 2017, TEA will release the primary form of all
2017 STAAR general assessments. All released tests will be posted on
TEA’s Student Assessment Division website.
TELPAS LISTENING AND SPEAKING PILOT STUDY
In order to minimize the amount of time raters spend in
training and preparing to rate TELPAS listening and speaking, TEA is working
with stakeholders to redesign the TELPAS listening and speaking assessments for
implementation in 2017–2018. This year, TEA will conduct a pilot study of the new
TELPAS listening and speaking assessments during the testing window for 2017
TELPAS reading. Information obtained from the pilot study will inform test
development and administration policy decisions going forward. TEA will be
accepting volunteers to participate in the pilot study. Districts will receive
additional information in late September about the process of volunteering for
the pilot study. If the volunteer sample is not representative, it may be
necessary to select additional campuses for the pilot study.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Prerequisites for High School Math Courses Information, ESTAR/MSTAR Information, Supporting Documents for TEKS
Prerequisite
Requirements for High School Mathematics Courses
The mathematics prerequisite course requirements changed with the implementation of revised Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for mathematics for high school courses beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. Prerequisite requirements for mathematics can be found in the TEKS for each course under the general requirements section. The word “recommended” has been removed from most prerequisites, therefore, in those cases listed prerequisite courses are required to be successfully completed before a student may enroll in a subsequent course.
Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 74 provides additional clarification for prerequisite requirements:
Foundation High School Program (§74.11(j)) http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074b.html
Minimum High School Program, Recommended High School Program, and Distinguished Achievement Program (§74.71(k)) http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074g.html#74.71
ESTAR/MSTAR Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments
As the new school year begins, please be aware of the availability of ESTAR (grades 2 - 4) and MSTAR (grades 5 - 8) Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments, valuable tools to support instructional decision-making regarding students’ algebra-readiness. These tools can be accessed on the Texas Gateway at http://www.texasgateway.org/.
Administration Windows
ESTAR/MSTAR Universal Screeners
ESTAR/MSTAR Professional Development
Teachers are encouraged to complete the appropriate online professional development courses when using the ESTAR/MSTAR Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments. The following online courses are available on the Texas Math Support Center (http://texasmathsupportcenter.org/):
TxAIR Update
The Texas Achievement Items Repository (http://www.txar.org/assessment/txair.htm) is a web-based tool provided at no cost to all Texas public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. TxAIR enables teachers to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses on targeted math and science TEKS for grades 3-12.
For more information or assistance with using this resource for the 2016-2017 school year, please contact txair@esc4.net.
Revised Resource – Supporting Information Documents for K-8
Supporting Information documents for the K-8 mathematics TEKS have been revised and can be found on the Texas Gateway at http://www.texasgateway.org/resource/mathematics-teks-supporting-information. The revised documents are identified by “May 2016” in the footer. Note that the supporting information for student expectation 3(4)(K) has been revised by replacing “quotient” with “dividend” to bring consistency to the limitation on multiplication and division found elsewhere at this grade level.
New Resource – Supporting Information Documents for High School
Supporting Information documents for several high school mathematics courses are currently available on the Texas Gateway at http://www.texasgateway.org/resource/mathematics-teks-supporting-information including Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Precalculus, Mathematics Models with Applications, and Advanced Quantitative Reasoning. Documents for Statistics and Algebraic Reasoning are in development and will be released in the near future. The Supporting Information documents are arranged as they appear in the Texas Administrative Code and provide further explanation of information found in the Side-by-Side TEKS Comparison documents. The Side-by-Side TEKS Comparison documents for those courses have been moved from the Texas Gateway, to the Resources for the Revised Mathematics TEKS on the TEA website located at http://tea.texas.gov/Curriculum_and_Instructional_Programs/Subject_Areas/Mathematics/Resources_for_the_Revised_Mathematics_TEKS/.
The mathematics prerequisite course requirements changed with the implementation of revised Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for mathematics for high school courses beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. Prerequisite requirements for mathematics can be found in the TEKS for each course under the general requirements section. The word “recommended” has been removed from most prerequisites, therefore, in those cases listed prerequisite courses are required to be successfully completed before a student may enroll in a subsequent course.
Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 74 provides additional clarification for prerequisite requirements:
Foundation High School Program (§74.11(j)) http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074b.html
Minimum High School Program, Recommended High School Program, and Distinguished Achievement Program (§74.71(k)) http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074g.html#74.71
ESTAR/MSTAR Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments
As the new school year begins, please be aware of the availability of ESTAR (grades 2 - 4) and MSTAR (grades 5 - 8) Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments, valuable tools to support instructional decision-making regarding students’ algebra-readiness. These tools can be accessed on the Texas Gateway at http://www.texasgateway.org/.
Administration Windows
ESTAR/MSTAR Universal Screeners
·
Fall: August 22, 2016 - October 14,
2016
·
Winter: January 9, 2017 - February
10, 2017
·
Spring: April 3, 2017 - May 5, 2017
ESTAR/MSTAR Diagnostic
Assessments
·
Fall: August 29, 2016 - October 21,
2016
·
Winter: January 16, 2017 - February
17, 2017
·
Spring: April 10, 2017 - May 12,
2017
The ESTAR/MSTAR Universal
Screeners, Diagnostic Assessments, and professional development courses are
available at no cost to all Texas public school districts. For account creation
assistance, contact mathTX@esc13.net. ESTAR/MSTAR Professional Development
Teachers are encouraged to complete the appropriate online professional development courses when using the ESTAR/MSTAR Universal Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments. The following online courses are available on the Texas Math Support Center (http://texasmathsupportcenter.org/):
The Texas Achievement Items Repository (http://www.txar.org/assessment/txair.htm) is a web-based tool provided at no cost to all Texas public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. TxAIR enables teachers to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses on targeted math and science TEKS for grades 3-12.
For more information or assistance with using this resource for the 2016-2017 school year, please contact txair@esc4.net.
Revised Resource – Supporting Information Documents for K-8
Supporting Information documents for the K-8 mathematics TEKS have been revised and can be found on the Texas Gateway at http://www.texasgateway.org/resource/mathematics-teks-supporting-information. The revised documents are identified by “May 2016” in the footer. Note that the supporting information for student expectation 3(4)(K) has been revised by replacing “quotient” with “dividend” to bring consistency to the limitation on multiplication and division found elsewhere at this grade level.
New Resource – Supporting Information Documents for High School
Supporting Information documents for several high school mathematics courses are currently available on the Texas Gateway at http://www.texasgateway.org/resource/mathematics-teks-supporting-information including Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Precalculus, Mathematics Models with Applications, and Advanced Quantitative Reasoning. Documents for Statistics and Algebraic Reasoning are in development and will be released in the near future. The Supporting Information documents are arranged as they appear in the Texas Administrative Code and provide further explanation of information found in the Side-by-Side TEKS Comparison documents. The Side-by-Side TEKS Comparison documents for those courses have been moved from the Texas Gateway, to the Resources for the Revised Mathematics TEKS on the TEA website located at http://tea.texas.gov/Curriculum_and_Instructional_Programs/Subject_Areas/Mathematics/Resources_for_the_Revised_Mathematics_TEKS/.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
The following districts had one or more campuses earn all possible distinctions in the 2016 accountability ratings! AWESOME JOB!!!!
Brownsboro ISD
Elkhart ISD
Longview ISD
Malakoff ISD
Quitman ISD
Tatum ISD
Tyler ISD
Winnsboro ISD
Brownsboro ISD
Elkhart ISD
Longview ISD
Malakoff ISD
Quitman ISD
Tatum ISD
Tyler ISD
Winnsboro ISD
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