Highlights of House Bill 3 Transition Plan

Transcription

1 Highlights f Huse Bill 3 Transitin Plan Assessment The new, mre rigrus State f Texas Assessments f Academic Readiness (STAAR) prgram will begin in the schl year. A new test design fr the STAAR assessments will fcus n readiness fr success in subsequent grades r curses and, ultimately, fr cllege and career. At grades 3 8, STAAR will include assessments in the fllwing grades/subjects: mathematics and reading at grades 3 8, including Spanish versins at grades 3 5 writing at grades 4 and 7, including Spanish versin at grade 4 science at grade 5, including a Spanish versin at grade 5 science at grade 8 scial studies at grade 8 Fr high schl, STAAR assessments will be administered in Algebra I, gemetry, Algebra II, bilgy, chemistry, physics, English I, English II, English III, wrld gegraphy, wrld histry, and U.S. histry. The STAAR EOC assessment scres will accunt fr 15% f a student s final grade in the curse. The test design fr English I, II, and III will require students t write tw essays rather than the ne that TAKS required. In reading, greater emphasis will be given t critical analysis rather than literal understanding. The test design will als allw fr the reading and writing cmpnents t be calibrated, equated, and scaled separately s that the scres n the reading and writing cmpnents can be reprted separately. This will allw a student t retake nly the prtin f the English EOC assessment n which he r she did nt meet the minimum scre requirements. Because f the length f these tests and the desire t embed field-test items t eliminate stand-alne field testing, each f the English EOC assessments will be administered ver tw days. All ther EOC assessments will be administered n ne day nly during a scheduled assessment windw. STAAR grades 3-8 assessments will be administered n paper nly; STAAR EOC assessments will be ffered in bth nline and paper frmats. With the implementatin f STAAR in the schl year, testing requirements fr graduatin will significantly increase. While TAKS represented fur hurdles fr students (requiring them t pass exit level tests in mathematics, English language arts, science, and scial studies), STAAR represents 12 hurdles fr students taking the recmmended high schl prgram. T graduate under STAAR, a student must achieve a cumulative scre that is at least equal t the prduct f the number f EOC assessments taken in each fundatin cntent area (English language arts, mathematics, science, and scial studies) and a scale scre that indicates satisfactry perfrmance. Perfrmance levels n certain STAAR EOC assessments are nw linked t a student s graduatin plan. Different levels f perfrmance are required n the EOC assessments in English III and Algebra II fr each f the three graduatin plans: minimum, recmmended, and distinguished. 1

2 STAAR perfrmance standards will be set s that they require a higher level f student perfrmance than is required n the current TAKS assessments. STAAR perfrmance standards fr STAAR EOC will be set in February 2012 and reprts will be available in June 2012 after the first May 2012 administratin. Perfrmance standards fr STAAR at grades 3 8 will be set in fall 2012, after the first spring administratin f STAAR. This standard-setting schedule will result in the fllwing: The Student Success Initiative (SSI) prmtin requirements will nt include use f the STAAR results in the schl year nly, since passing standards will nt yet be established. Statute cntinues t require the use f ther academic infrmatin (teacher recmmendatins, student grades, etc.) in prmtin decisins. Reprting f STAAR grades 3-8 results will be delayed until fall Each general grade 3-8 and EOC STAAR assessment will have a satisfactry cut scre and an advanced cut scre. There will als be EOC minimum scres set belw but within a reasnable range f the satisfactry scres which will be used t determine whether a student s scre n a particular EOC assessment may cunt twards his r her cumulative scre in that cntent area. Perfrmance at the highest cut scre will be interpreted differently depending n the assessment. Fr example, this highest cut will indicate cllege readiness fr Algebra II and English III. It will indicate advanced curse readiness fr Algebra I, English I, and II, and it will indicate advanced perfrmance fr the remaining curses. It is anticipated that the satisfactry perfrmance standards fr STAAR will be phased in ver several years, but the highest perfrmance standard (including the cllege and career readiness standards fr Algebra II and English III) wuld nt be phased in, but applied as apprved when STAAR becmes peratinal. Perfrmance standards will be reviewed at least every three years, as required by state statute. As with the current mdified assessments, the STAAR Mdified assessments will cver the same cntent as the general STAAR assessments, but will be mdified in frmat and test design. Mdified assessments will be develped fr all cntent areas fr grades 3-8 that are part f the general STAAR prgram and fr nine f the twelve STAAR EOC assessments. Mdified assessments are nt being develped fr Algebra II, chemistry, r physics as these curses are nt required n the Minimum High Schl Prgram (MHSP) and all students taking STAAR Mdified assessments are n the MHSP because they are receiving mdified instructin. The new STAAR Mdified assessments will reflect the same increased rigr and fcus f the general assessments and nw will include mre rigrus item types. In additin, field-test items will be embedded in the mdified assessments. The STAAR Alternate assessments will be very similar in design t the current TAKS-Alt assessments. Students will cntinue t perfrm standardized assessment tasks linked t the grade-level TEKS that measure student prgress n skills aligned with the academic grade-level cntent standards. Hwever, STAAR Alternate will incrprate a vertical alignment in the prgram s assessment tasks, and the high schl assessments will mve frm grade-level assessments t curse-based assessments. The new STAAR Alternate assessments will reflect the same increased rigr and fcus f the general and mdified assessments. 2

3 Fr eligible English language learners (ELLs) in grades 3-8 and high schl, plans are being made fr the develpment f cmputer-based linguistically accmmdated versins f STAAR, currently referred t as STAAR L. Spanish versins f STAAR will be implemented fr eligible ELLs in grades 3-5. TELPAS will be adjusted as needed t ensure a strng link between academic language prficiency as defined by TELPAS and academic achievement as defined by STAAR. TEA is evaluating all testing accmmdatins t determine which nes will cntinue in the STAAR prgram and which accmmdatins will be added r discntinued. With the STAAR prgram, TEA is cnsidering the eliminatin f the separate accmmdated frm and instead building in sme specific accmmdatins t the general STAAR assessments fr these students. Als, TEA is explring the pssibility f standardized ral administratins fr the STAAR prgram using an nline testing frmat. Perfrmance standards, test scre interpretatins, and the uses f STAAR assessment data will be supprted by validity evidence that will be btained by crrelating the STAAR assessments with ther tests r measures f student perfrmance. T prvide external validity evidence based n test cntent, an analysis will be cnducted t cmpare the assessment cntent standards n the STAAR assessments with ther natinally and internatinally administered assessments. STAAR significantly increases the number f testing days at the high schl level because f the increase in the number f assessments students will be taking. Currently n TAKS there is a ttal f 25 testing days, including exit level retest administratins. With three testing pprtunities each year (fall, winter, and spring), STAAR EOC will require up t 45 testing days when it is fully implemented. Students are allwed by statute t retest fr any reasn. TEA is cnsidering adpting plicies t limit the time a student spends taking a STAAR assessment n a given day. This cnsideratin is based n advice frm advisry cmmittees t align Texas testing plicies with ther state and natinal assessments and better prepare students fr timed tests such as SAT, ACT, and AP. Because f the number f high stakes EOC assessments that will be administered at the same time and the prvisin in statute t allw students t retest an EOC assessment fr any reasn, there will be much greater security challenges assciated with the STAAR prgram. Beginning in , TEA will annually use statistical analyses t identify irregular patterns f test answers that may indicate cheating t augment ther detectin methds already in use, such as multiple mark analysis. The use f statistical methds will take place within a larger investigative prcess that includes the cllectin f additinal evidence, such as lcally maintained seating charts, reprts f testing irregularities, and recrds f test security and administratin training fr campuses. Districts are required t prvide remediatin t any student wh fails a STAAR assessment, whether in grades 3 8 r high schl. This requirement has significant implicatins fr districts, especially at the high schl level. Students wh pass a curse but fail the assessment fr that curse may require additinal instructin in that curse even after they are n lnger enrlled. Delivering remediatin/instructin t students in these instances will present districts with bth scheduling and staffing challenges. Students, parents, and teachers will be able t access results thrugh a data prtal, a secure system that will prvide the ability t view reprts, track student prgress, prvide assessment data t institutins f higher educatin, and prvide infrmatin t the general public. 3

4 As Texas transitins its assessment prgram frm TAKS t STAAR, different measures f student prgress will likely be implemented. Texas will implement a multi-step prcess t identify the student prgress measures that will be used fr the STAAR assessment prgram. The verall field-test burden f STAAR n students and schl districts has been significantly reduced frm that f TAKS thrugh the embedding f field-test items whenever pssible beginning with peratinal assessments in In 2011, 2012, and 2013, selected test items representative f selected grades and subjects assessed n STAAR will be released. The first full release f primary test frms f STAAR will ccur in Accuntability A new accuntability system based n the STAAR grades 3 8 and STAAR EOC assessments will be develped during the schl year and implemented in Accuntability ratings will nt be released in while student perfrmance standards are set n the STAAR and the new accuntability system is develped. Reprting in will be mdified based n the availability f student perfrmance data. The new accuntability rating system will include the fllwing indicatrs and ther features. Student perfrmance n the STAAR grades 3 8 and EOC assessments, measured against bth student passing standards and cllege-readiness standards. Student prgress is als factred in, allwing mre students t be identified as meeting r prgressing tward meeting these standards. Accuntability standards defined by the cmmissiner f educatin fr the current year and prjected fr the next tw years. Standard fr the cllege-ready perfrmance indicatr increases s that by Texas ranks in the tp ten amng states natinally n tw measures the percent cllege-ready and the percent graduating under the recmmended r advanced high schl prgram, with n gaps by race, ethnicity, r sciecnmic status. Drput rates (including district cmpletin rates) fr grades 9 thrugh 12 and high schl graduatin rates. Student grup perfrmance based n race/ethnicity and sciecnmic status is evaluated. Required Imprvement ver the prir year is a required feature. Average perfrmance f the last three years is a required feature. Perfrmance n 85 percent f the measures meeting the standard is an ptinal feature. Accuntability rating labels assign districts and campuses t ne f tw rating categries: Unacceptable and Acceptable. 4

5 Distinctin designatins will recgnize high perfrmance by students in academics and n brader indicatrs f excellence beynd results based n state assessments. Recgnized and Exemplary ratings are distinctin designatins fr meeting higher cllege- and careerready perfrmance standards, rather than higher perfrmance n the same indicatrs used fr accuntability ratings. Campus distinctin designatins will be awarded fr campuses in the tp 25 percent in annual imprvement, campuses in the tp 25 percent f thse demnstrating ability t clse perfrmance gaps, and fr academic perfrmance in ELA, mathematics, science, and scial studies. Campus distinctin designatins will als be awarded in fur new areas: fine arts, physical educatin, 21 st Century Wrkfrce develpment prgram, and secnd language acquisitin prgram. The intent f the accuntability develpment prcess is t design a new accuntability system rather than mdify the current system. The new system may lk very different frm the current state accuntability system. Fllwing are sme f the design ptins that will be explred fr the new system. Lngitudinal EOC perfrmance measure that tracks a chrt r class f high schl students as they prgress tward meeting the EOC graduatin requirement. Perfrmance Index that cmbines perfrmance acrss assessment perfrmance levels and subjects as well as grades, languages, and tests (regular and alternative). Accuntability develpment in and will include several crdinated effrts t simultaneusly develp the new state accuntability rating system, new federal AYP system, new state distinctin designatins, a new Perfrmance-Based Mnitring Analysis System (PBMAS), new state accuntability reprts, and pssibly new alternative educatin accuntability prcedures. Develpment f the new federal Adequate Yearly Prgress (AYP) system fr 2012 and beynd will take place during the schl year as the new state accuntability system is develped. The primary cnsideratin that will guide develpment f the new AYP system will be alignment with the state accuntability system t the greatest extent pssible. TEA will mnitr the ESEA reauthrizatin prcess clsely but develpment f the new AYP system will begin and may be cmpleted under the requirements f the current ESEA. Phase-in f the new accuntability system will begin with the 2013 and 2014 accuntability ratings. Final decisins fr 2013 ratings will be released in spring Districts and campuses will nt receive advanced ntice f perfrmance under the new accuntability system. The 2013 ratings will be based n percent f students meeting the satisfactry student perfrmance standard. Cllege-ready perfrmance will be reprted in The 2014 ratings will be based n cllege-ready perfrmance n STAAR as well as satisfactry perfrmance. Distinctin designatins fr which perfrmance n the cllege-ready indicatr is an eligibility requirement will be intrduced with the 2014 ratings. Campus and district ratings and distinctin designatins will be issued by August 8 beginning with the 2013 ratings. Ntificatin t districts and campuses previusly rated Unacceptable f a subsequent unacceptable rating will dne as early as pssible in 2013 and by June 15 beginning in