Which STAAR Is It? ARD Committee Training Evaluation Steering Committee September 27, 2011
AGENDA Acronyms ARD Committee Resources Web Page Who Takes What Test 4 Steps to Making Assessment Decisions Participation Requirements Factors to Consider Questions you will ask
Acronyms DAP Distinguished Achievement Program
Acronyms STAAR State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness
Acronyms EOC End of Course
Acronyms RHSP Recommended High School Program
Acronyms TAC Texas Administrative Code
Acronyms STAAR L Linguistically accommodated version of STAAR
Acronyms MHSP Minimum High School Program
Acronyms TETN Texas Education Telecommunication Network
ARD Committee Resources page http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/ ard/ Training powerpoint Other resources
Who takes what test?
TAKS and TAKS Accommodated Students in grade 10, 11, or 12 Exit level tests and retests available TAKS TAKS Accommodated (TAKS M is not an exit level test and is not available for student in grade 12.)
Exit level/grade 11 assessment for students repeating grade 9 TAKS TAKS Accommodated TAKS M but
Repeating Grade 9 students TAKS, TAKS Accommodated, and TAKS M grade 9 tests are not available for 2011 2012. Students repeating grade 9 will not be assessed in 2011 12
STAAR Students Grades 3 8 Entering grade 9 There is no STAAR Accommodated; however, eligible students will be allowed accommodations on STAAR http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/accom modations/staar telpas/
STAAR Modified and STAAR Alternate Students in grades 3 11 who are eligible for an alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards TAKS Alternate will no longer be available
What Tests Do ELLs Receiving Special Education Services Take?
TAKS Program for ELLs Students in grade 10, 11, 12 TAKS TAKS Accommodated TAKS LAT for grade 10 LEP exempt immigrants
STAAR Program for ELLs Receiving Special Education Services STAAR in English STAAR in Spanish (grades 3 5) STAAR Modified STAAR Alternate STAAR L in English
STAAR L Linguistically accommodated STAAR tests for eligible ELLS Available for grades 3 and above Math Science Social studies EOC
More on STAAR L No STAAR L form of STAAR Modified Linguistic accommodations for eligible ELLS who take STAAR Modified STAAR L participation criteria different from TAKS LAT Participation criteria coming soon http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/ell/ #training
For ELLS grade K 12 Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing TELPAS Program See 2010 11 LPAC Decision Making Process for the Texas Assessment Program manual http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/ell/ lpac/
Reminders about ELLS Receiving Special Education Services The ARD Committee and LPAC must Work together to meet special education needs and second language acquisition needs Collaborate on assessment and accommodation decisions Document the decisions appropriately More information on ARD committee and LPAC collaboration: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/guidance/ardlpac.html
4 Steps to Making Assessment Decisions
4 Step Process Step 4 Step 1 Review PLAAFP s Step 2 Review Instructional Plan Step 3 Determine Appropriate assessment Document the assessment decision
Participation Requirements
TAKS M Participation Requirements Used only for students in grades 10 and 11 during the 2011 2012 school year New format same eligibility criteria References to TAKS Alt criteria replaced with actual text Posted on TAKS M Resources web page Look for document with Updated Summer 2011 in footer
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Use for Students grades 3 8 and Entering 9 th graders State required documentation form Three steps to determine if a modified assessment is appropriate for a student
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Step 1: Eligibility Criteria Understand all assessment options Circle the subjects/courses for which STAAR Modified is being considered Circle NA for the subjects/courses that do not apply to the student
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements For each subject/course for which STAAR Modified is being considered, answer Yes or No to 3 questions:
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Each Yes requires justification. Page number of IEP where addressed Section of IEP where addressed If the answer is Yes to all 3 questions for each subject/course the student is eligible to participate in STAAR Modified for that subject/course. Go to Step II.
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements If the answer to any question is No, the student is not eligible to participate in STAAR Modified for that subject/course and must participate in one of the other statewide assessments.
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Step II: Discuss Assurances 37
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements If an alternate assessment is selected, the ARD must discuss: Why general assessment is not appropriate Decision is based on multiple sources of evidence, not solely on previous statewide assessment scores Decision is made by ARD, not administratively Decision is based on student s educational need, not disability category, racial or economic background, absences, or time/location of service deliver For elementary and middle school students, instructional and assessment decision made now may impact a student s graduation options in high school
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements For a student taking EOC assessments, the student is enrolled in a course with a PEIMS number that indicates coursework is modified Modified coursework = MHSP = no automatic admission into a Texas 4 year university
STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Step III: Summarize Assessment Decisions Indicate the subject/course for which the student has met the eligibility criteria for STAAR Modified. STAAR Modified tests for English III, World History, and U.S. History are not available for the 2011 2012 school year. If a student is eligible for these assessments, he/she will not test this school year. Algebra II, Chemistry, and Physics will not be assessed with STAAR Modified. If a student is eligible for these assessments, he/she will not test this school year.
STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements Same eligibility criteria questions that were used for TAKS Alt: Does the student have a significant cognitive disability? Does the student require specialized supports to access the grade level curriculum and environment? Does the student require intensive, individualized instruction in a variety of settings?
STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements Does the student access and participate in the grade level TEKS through prerequisite skills? Does the student primarily demonstrate knowledge and skills through performance tasks? New STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements posted on STAAR Alternate Resources page 8/8/11 Includes high school course selections with PEIMS codes http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/special ed/staaralt/
Questions you will eventually ask
1. Why would an ARD committee determine that a student is eligible for STAAR Modified in Algebra II, chemistry, or physics if no modified assessment exists for these?
2. Does the ARD committee have to reconvene if they determined that a student will take STAAR Modified during the 2011 2012 school year prior to these new participation requirements being posted?
Factors to Consider When Making Assessment Decisions
Commissioner s Rule Change on Substitute High School Courses OLD POLICY NO LONGER ALLOWED Some students receiving special education services could take locally developed courses that counted for credit toward completion of the requirements for the MHSP if an ARD committee determined that the state approved course was not appropriate. These locally developed courses were not required to be aligned to the TEKS for the state required courses. To be in compliance with federal law, all students must participate in the assessment system; therefore, without a change in policy regarding locally developed courses, students at the high school level would likely not be assessed or be assessed on curriculum to which they may not have sufficient access. 47
Commissioner s Rule Change on Substitute High School Courses NEW POLICY = TAC 89.1070(b)(3) Districts will be allowed to continue providing locally developed substitute courses for some students receiving special education services for the courses listed on the MHSP. The content of these locally developed substitute courses must be fully aligned to the TEKS for the courses they replace. Students will be required to participate in an EOC assessment (general, modified, or alternate) for the course that has been substituted. 48
15% of Course Grade Applies to students entering grade 9 taking STAAR end ofcourse (EOC) assessments A student s score on a STAAR EOC will account for 15 percent of the student s final grade in the course. A student can retake any STAAR EOC assessment for any reason, but a school district is not required to use a student s score on subsequent administrations to determine the student s final grade for that course. In Texas, grading policies are determined and implemented at the district level, and TEA does not have the authority to mandate district grading policies that would govern how students final grades are determined. Districts are not required to count STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate EOC assessment results as 15% of the student s course grade since current legislation does not include this requirement for students taking a modified or alternate assessment. 49
Cumulative Score Requirements For entering grade 9 students receiving special education services who take STAAR EOC assessments ARD committee determines whether or not student has to meet cumulative score requirement in order to graduate. This decision has bearing on whether student can graduate on Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP), Recommended High School Program (RHSP), or MHSP. Current legislation does not include a cumulative score requirement for students taking STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate EOC assessments 50
Student Success Initiative (SSI) Since performance (passing) standards for grades 3 8 will not be established until October 2012, pass/fail performance on the assessment will not be provided. So there will not be retest opportunities (May and June administrations) for grades 5 and 8 reading and mathematics in 2011 2012. Districts will use other relevant academic information to make promotion/retention decisions. Recommendation of the student s teacher Student s grade in the subject Any other necessary academic information, as determined by the district More information will be posted at a later date. 51
STAAR Graduation Graduation flowchart for students receiving special education services who entered grade 9 in 2011 2012 (and thereafter) posted on the ARD Committee Resources web page Additional training will be provided throughout the year to address questions and comments that educators have e mailed to Assessment.studentswithdisabilities@tea.state.tx.us TAKS Graduation flowcharts A and B for students repeating grade 9 and in grades 10 12 are updated and also posted on the ARD Committee Resources web page 52
TEA s Student Assessment Division: Phone: (512) 463 9536 Additional Resources FAX: (512) 463 9302 E mail: assessment.studentswithdisabilities@tea.state.tx.us TETN Schedule: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/trainin g/tetn schedule/ 53
Have a great year making great decisions