North East Independent School District September 2011 Version 2

1. State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR):For Middle School Students in the 2011-2012 school year North East Independent School District September 2011 Version 2

2. Agenda • Overview of STAAR • Looking ahead to high school • Some Frequently Asked Questions • Your Questions

3. As of the first day of instruction for the 2011-2012 school year, TEA has yet to finalize several crucial decisions regarding STAAR exams. With the new assessment program, current testing policies, regulations and procedures are being reevaluated and will be modified as necessary to ensure that they fit the new structure and purpose of the STAAR program. Therefore, as the District receives updated information from the Texas Education Agency throughout the school year, specific details concerning the implementation of the EOC exams will be communicated to all students and parents/guardians.

4. A new vertical state system • Legislation requires a system of performance standards that are linked from grade to grade, starting with postsecondary-readiness performance standards down through grade 3 Sources: Texas Education Agency HB 3 Transition Plan; Lead4ward

5. What is STAAR? • State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) • Beginning in the 2011-12 school year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will be launching STAAR to replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) • Based on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) • STAAR tests for grades 3-8 and subject-area STAAR End-of-Course exams for high school • 6th grade –Mathematics and Reading • 7th grade– Mathematics, Reading and Writing • 8th – Mathematics, Reading, Social Studies and Science

6. General rules for STAAR • For the 2011-2012 school year only, there are no Student Success Initiative (SSI) promotion requirements for grades 5 and 8 • Students will be assessed for promotion to the next grade by other academic information, such as grades and teacher recommendations

7. Rules for middle school students enrolled in upper level courses • District is waiting for further guidance on testing requirements for 7th grade students in PreAP classes • For 8th graders enrolled in Algebra I in spring 2012: • Required to take EOC for courses in which they are enrolled • Student’s EOC score must count toward 15% of the final course grade and count toward cumulative score • A student maynot be required to retake a course as a condition of retaking the EOC assessment for that course

8. How is STAAR different? • STAAR writing assessment at grade 7 will be two days • Accommodations during testing will be available for students who receive special education services, students who are identified for support under Section 504 and students with a specific need who meet established eligibility criteria set by TEA for certain accommodations

9. How is STAAR different? • Emphasis on college and career readiness • More rigorous by: • Focusing on the course level curriculum (TEKS) that is most critical for success, known as Readiness Standards • Adhering to a time limit of four hours • Including more rigorous items, increased number of items, greater emphasis on critical analysis, and more difficult testing methods, such as open-ended questions and additional compositions

10. Example: Grade 5 STAAR Source: Texas Education Agency Student Assessment Division

11. Exit Level TABS test (1982)

12. Exit Level TAKS test (2006)

13. TAKS to STAAR Transition Plan

14. Student performance • Two cut scores, which will identify three performance labels Level I Unsatisfactory Academic Performance Level II Satisfactory Academic Performance Level III Advanced Academic Performance Similar to Commended level under TAKS * Performance Standards for STAAR 3-8 will be set in October 2012

15. Looking ahead: STAAR at High School • STAAR end-of-course assessments developed in foundation subjects ** * Must meet additional passing standards for Recommended High School Program and Distinguished Achievement Program ** The English EOCs will include separate reading and writing components

16. Looking ahead: STAAR at High School • STAAR will include new graduation requirements for first time ninth-grade students in 2011-2012 and thereafter • Students must achieve a minimum score on all EOCs in which they are enrolled, other than English III and Algebra II; • Students must meet the cumulative score requirement in each of the four foundation subjects; and • Students must earn Level II or III performance in English III and Algebra II (depending on graduation program)

17. Graduation Requirements for students first enrolled in grade 9 or below in 2011-2012 • Credits • Three Graduation Programs: • Minimum High School Program (22 credits) • 4 credits of English; 3 math; 2 science; 3 soc. std.; 1 P.E.; 0.5 health(through healthy lifestyles); 0.5 speech; 1 fine arts; 1 academic elective; 6 electives; must see counselor for MHSP • RecommendedHigh School Program(26 credits) • 4 credits each of English, math, science, soc. std.; 2 credits in other languages; 1 P.E.; 0.5 health (through healthy lifestyles); 0.5 speech; 1 fine arts; 5 elective credits; default graduation program • Distinguished High School Program(26 credits) • same as RHSP except 3 credits in other languages; 4 elective credits; 4 advanced measures • Link to graduation: http://www.neisd.net/curriculum/CurComp/guide/graduation_requireme.html • End of Course Exams(EOCs) • Students must meet passing standards for 8to 12 EOCs • Minimum High School Program (8 to 12 EOCs) • Recommended High School Program (12 EOCs) • Distinguished Achievement Program (12 EOCs) • EOC tests results must be included as 15% of the student’s final grade for the course • Minimum High School Program: It is possible that some students will need to perform satisfactory on as few as eight EOC assessments • Recommended High School Program: Students must meet Satisfactory Academic Performance (Level II) in: • English III • Algebra II • Distinguished Achievement Program: Students must meet Advanced Academic Performance standard (Level III) in: • English III • Algebra II • Each of the four foundation subjects (Math, Reading/ELA, Social Studies, Science) have a minimum score and a cumulative score requirement

18. Minimum High School Program Recommended High School Program (Default in NEISD) Distinguished Achievement Program

19. When can a student choose the Minimum High School Program? • Incoming NEISD high school students enter under the Recommended High School Program (default program) • A parent/guardian waiver acknowledging understanding of the Minimum High School Program must be signed by the parent/guardian and by the principal’s designee • The student must meet at least one of the following conditions: • Be at least 16 years of age, or • Have completed two credits required for graduation in each subject of the foundation curriculum, or • Have failed to be promoted to Grade 10 one or more times as determined by the school district • For students served through the special education program, the Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee will work with families to determine the appropriate graduation program

20. What are the consequences of graduating under the Minimum High School Program? • Receiving a Minimum High School Program diploma may affect admission to a higher education institution • Additionally, a Minimum High School Program diploma may not qualify for some financial aid programs, grants or scholarships

21. How will students served through the special education program be assessed on STAAR? • The Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee will decide which STAAR assessments (STAAR, STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate) a student served through the special education program should take based on his/her abilities and eligibility requirements • Individual ARD committees will continue to consider the needs of each student and select additional accommodations and supplemental aids that are necessary to support the student’s success during assessment

23. Will STAAR be developed for English Language Learners (ELLs)? • Linguistically accommodated versions of STAAR called STAAR L will be available for eligible ELLs • STAAR L will be in English and comparable to STAAR in content, rigor, and academic achievement standards • The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) will be reviewed and adjusted as needed to maintain an appropriate relationship between academic language proficiency as defined by TELPAS and academic achievement as defined by STAAR

24. Will STAAR L be available for all grades, subjects, and courses? • L versions of the STAAR assessments in mathematics, science, and social studies will be developed • STAAR L reading and writing will not be developed • ELLs in grade 6 and above may be given access to dictionaries when taking STAAR reading, writing, and English I–III tests • STAAR L versions will be administered on a similar schedule as STAAR assessments and in paper form only for 2011-2012

25. Do all ELLs take STAAR L? • Revisions to ELL test participation criteria will be made through the commissioner of education rulemaking process and posted on the Texas Education Agency website in fall 2011 • ELLs not eligible to take the STAAR L will take the general STAAR tests in English but may be eligible to receive certain limited linguistic accommodations • The small number of ELLs with disabilities who meet STAAR Modified participation criteria will take the STAAR Modified test forms in English but may qualify for allowable linguistic accommodations

26. Other Frequently Asked Questions

27. How does STAAR impact middle school students enrolled in a high school level course (e.g. Algebra I)? In 2012 and beyond: • Middle school students enrolled in high school-level courses will be required to take the corresponding end-of-course (EOC) assessment • Decisions at the state level have not yet been made about how these test scores for these students will be used in state or federal accountability • Once more information is released about the affects on accountability, the district will make a final decision on whether middle school students enrolled in high school level courses are required to also take the corresponding STAAR grade level assessment

28. High School students taking EOCs must: 1. achieve a minimum score on all EOCs in which they are enrolled, other than English III and Algebra II; 2. meet the cumulative score requirement in each of the four foundation subjects; and 3. earn Level II or III performance in English III and Algebra II (depending on graduation program) Cumulative Score Requirement (Math Example): Algebra I (Min. 900) + Geometry (Min. 900) +Algebra II (Min. of 1,000 or 1,400 depending on Graduation program) >= 3,000 Level I Unsatisfactory Academic Performance Level II Satisfactory Academic Performance Level III Advanced Academic Performance RHSP: English III and Algebra II (1,000 minimum) DAP: English III and Algebra II (1,400 minimum) Minimum Score Sample Scale Scores* Minimum Contribution=900 Algebra I, English I, Biology, World Geography, Geometry, English II, Chemistry, World History, Physics, U.S. History 0 900 1400 1000 * Performance Standards will be set in February 2012 prior to the first high stakes administration in spring 2012

29. How do students meet a minimum and a cumulative score on EOCs?

30. How are the STAAR EOC assessments related to course grades? • The score on a STAAR EOC assessment is required to count for 15% of the student’s final grade in the course • NEISD will establish local policies to implement the 15% statutory requirement • For STAAR English I, II, and III assessments, which have a separate reading and writing component, districts have discretion over how the score from each component are used to calculate the 15% grading requirement • TEA is not planning to provide a method to convert EOC scale scores into grading systems because of wide variations in grading policies from district to district • There is no corresponding requirement for students taking a modified or alternate assessment, so districts are not required to count STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate EOC assessment scores as 15% of a student’s final course grade

31. How will NEISD incorporate the EOC 15% requirement? • A conversion chart between EOC scale scores* and course grades (0-100) will be created by the district and used to calculate the Final Grade on the Academic Achievement Record (AAR) – transcripts • The final grade will not be used in the calculation of rank, GPA, or Overall GPA (based on current information) * Performance Standards will be set in February 2012 prior to the first high stakes administration in spring 2012

32. How will an EOC affect course credit? • If a student’s final grade is less than a 70 after 15% of an EOC score is applied, then the course credit is denied until the student either retakes the course to earn a higher grade and/or retakes the EOC exam to earn a higher score that will elevate the final grade to a minimum of 70 • The student does not necessarily have to retake the course

33. What happens if my child does not meet the minimum EOC performance standard or if he/she barely meets it? • Students who fail an EOC test will automatically be scheduled to test again during the next administration (summer, fall or spring) • If a student barely passes an EOC exam, parents and students should strongly considerdiscussing, scheduling, and/or retaking the EOC exam since a very good score on one test can help with a lower score on another • NEISD is developing a process for communicating STAAR results with families to discuss re-testing opportunities • Parents will receive EOC results through a paper report (CSR) and through the state’s online portal (Texas Assessment Management System)

34. Additional Resources http://www.neisd.net/staar/ TEA STAAR Resources http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/

35. Your Questions