The current state student assessment system, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, began in 2011-12.
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness system annually tests students in grades 3-8. High school students must pass Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology and U.S. History end-of-course exams to graduate.
STAAR assessments are administered electronically, with the exception of students who require accommodations that cannot be provided online.
Individual graduation committees must be established for students in 11th or 12th grade who have failed up to two EOCs. The committee determines whether a student can graduate despite failing the exams (see page 43). A student who fails the Algebra I or English II exam but receives a proficient score on the Texas Success Initiative Assessment in the corresponding subject satisfies the EOC passage requirements.
Assessments for grades 3-8 may not have more than three parts. Each part must be designed so that, in grades 3 and 4, 85% of students will be able to complete that part within 60 minutes; and in grades 5-8, 85% of students will be able to complete that part within 75 minutes. The time allowed for the test may not exceed eight hours and may occur in multiple parts over more than one day.
These requirements do not apply if, as determined by commissioner-appointed assessment advisory committees, the assessment would no longer comply with federal law or be valid and reliable. These requirements also do not apply to a classroom portfolio method of assessing writing.
The Algebra I EOC must allow the use of technology (e.g., a calculator) but may include one or more parts that prohibit the use of technology. EOCs can be administered in multiple parts over more than one day.
The testing schedule for STAAR cannot include a test administration on the first instructional day of a week, although districts/charters can request to administer an assessment on the first instructional day of the week if using a different day would result in a significant administrative burden due to specific local conditions. A local board cannot exclude more than two instructional days from the assessment period based solely on the occurrence of a single religious holy day or period of observance. In establishing a calendar, the board must provide for alternative dates for assessments for students who are absent to observe a holy day on the regular assessment date.
Not more than 75% of the available points on an assessment instrument may be attributable to questions presented in a multiple-choice format.
Grades 3-8 assessments
Grades 9-12 end-of-course assessments
State law provides that parents are not entitled to remove their child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test. Normally, TEA requires that students who are in attendance on the day of testing and choose not to participate or refuse to mark their answers, and who are in grades 3-8 or are taking an EOC for the first time, will have their tests submitted for scoring as is (meaning they will be recorded as failing the test).
See also www.tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/staar.
Field tests: Separate field testing of existing tests can be conducted no more than once every other year. TEA must notify each school district before the beginning of the school year of any required participation in field testing.
Benchmark tests: Districts are prohibited from administering more than two benchmark tests per state assessment, excluding administration of college prep assessments such as the PSAT, SAT, ACT, AP exams, etc. A parent can request additional benchmark tests. Districts also are prohibited from administering any locally required test designed to prepare students for state-administered tests on more than 10% of instructional days; campus site-based decision-making committees may approve an even lower percentage of days.
Test administration: State law provides that the statewide assessment program must be designed to minimize disruption to the educational program. Additionally, assessment procedures must minimize disruptions to school operations and the classroom environment.
Limits on removal from class: School districts are required to adopt policies that limit removal of students from class for remedial tutoring or test preparation for more than 10% of the school days on which the class is offered, unless the parent gives written consent.
As required by law, TEA developed a vertical scale for assessing student performance on the English STAAR for reading and math in grades 3-8 and Spanish STAAR for reading and math in grades 3-6.
TEA is required to determine the annual improvement necessary for a student to be prepared to perform satisfactorily on grades 5 and 8 state assessments as well as the high school EOC exams required for graduation.
A school district is required to prepare a report of the comparisons made under the measure of annual improvement and provide it to teachers at the beginning of the school year for incoming students (a TCTA suggestion) as well as for students from the prior school year.
TEA established a student assessment data portal for use by school districts, teachers, parents, students and public institutions of higher education at www.texasassessment.gov.
STAAR Alternate: This test is designed to assess students in grades 3-8 and high school receiving special education services who have significant cognitive disabilities. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act puts a 1% cap at the state level on the number of students who can be assessed in this manner.
A student may be promoted only on the basis of academic achievement or demonstrated proficiency of the subject matter of the course or grade level. In determining promotion, a school district must consider the recommendation of the student’s teacher, the student’s grade in each subject or course, the student’s score on the STAAR in grades 3-8, to the extent applicable, and any other necessary academic information, as determined by the district.
A district must make the requirements for student advancement public by the start of the school year. Each time a student fails a STAAR test in grades 3-8 or a STAAR end-of-course exam in high school, the district must provide the student with accelerated instruction in the applicable subject areas during the subsequent summer or school year and assign the student to a classroom teacher who is certified as a master, exemplary, or recognized teacher under a locally approved teacher designation system or holds National Board certification for the subsequent school year in the applicable subject area; or provide the student supplemental instruction.
If choosing to provide supplemental instruction, a school district is not required to provide supplemental instruction for more than two subject areas, prioritizing math and reading subjects.
These requirements do not apply if the student is retained in the same grade level, and parents can elect to modify or opt out of supplemental instruction.
Accelerated instruction may require a student to participate before or after normal school hours and may include participation at times of the year outside normal school operations. In providing accelerated instruction, a district cannot remove a student, except under circumstances for which a student enrolled in the same grade level who is not receiving accelerated instruction would be removed, from instruction in the foundation curriculum and enrichment curriculum, or from recess or other physical activity that is available to other students enrolled in the same grade level.
Supplemental instruction must, among other things:
Districts can use TEA-approved products that use an automated, computerized or other augmented method for providing supplemental instruction in lieu of some or all of the individual or group instruction required, as appropriate for the applicable grade level and subject area and a student’s academic deficiency.
The commissioner may grant waivers from accelerated instruction requirements if certain conditions are met.
A district must develop an accelerated education plan by the start of the subsequent school year for a student who fails a test for two or more consecutive school years in the same subject area. The plan must provide the necessary accelerated instruction to enable the student to perform at the appropriate grade level by the conclusion of the school year and for the student to receive at least 30 hours of supplemental instruction for each consecutive school year in which the student does not perform satisfactorily on the applicable test. The plan can include expansion of the times in which supplemental instruction is available to the student; that the student be assigned for the school year to a specific teacher who is better able to provide accelerated instruction; and that the district provide any necessary additional resources to the student.
A student for whom an accelerated education plan must be developed must be assigned, in each school year and subject covered by the accelerated education plan, an appropriately certified teacher who meets all state and federal qualifications to teach that subject and grade, unless, on request of the school district, the commissioner waives the requirement.
Each district must establish a process allowing for the parent or guardian of a student who fails to perform satisfactorily to request that the student be assigned to a particular classroom teacher in the applicable subject area for the subsequent school year, if more than one teacher is available.
TEA must notify districts and campuses of test results no later than the 21st day after the administration date. The school district must disclose to each teacher the test results of the students that teacher taught.
On or before Sept. 1 each year, the commissioner must make available on the TEA website the number of questions on the assessment instrument, the number of questions that must be answered correctly to achieve satisfactory performance, the number of questions that must be answered correctly to achieve satisfactory performance under the college readiness performance standard, and the corresponding scale scores for each of the state assessments.
Tests must be released every three years. TEA can defer releases to the extent necessary to develop additional tests.
It is a class C misdemeanor to intentionally disclose any portion of a test that is likely to affect the individual performance of one or more students on the assessment.
UIL competitions may not be scheduled on Monday through Thursday, or the last testing day, of a primary STAAR assessment week. This provision does not apply to retesting.
The commissioner must adopt or develop optional electronic interim assessment instruments for each subject and for each grade level subject to assessment under the state assessment system; such assessments must be predictive of the applicable state assessment for that subject/grade level and may not be used for accountability purposes.
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