ARD Decision-Making for the STAAR Alternate

1. ARD Decision-Making for the STAAR Alternate Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

2. RETN Etiquette Please turn OFF cell phones If you must take a call, please take it outside Be sure your microphones are muted. Remember… You may be seen or heard by other sites at any time, even if you are not speaking to the presenter. Candid Camera Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

3. Attendance and Handouts Credit for Attendance Access to Handouts Handouts are available online on the ESC Region XI website at http://www.esc11.net/ Page/3791 Click on “STAAR Alternate Training Resources” on the left side menu • Your district site manager should provide you with a sign-in sheet • Please be sure that all participants who want credit for attendance sign-in • Coordinate with the site manager to return the sign-in sheet to ESC Region XI Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

4. After today, this session will be available for viewing via the VBrick system at http://vbrick.esc11.net Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

5. Questions???Opportunities to ask questions will be provided throughout the training. srutherford@esc11.net817-740-7574 Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

6. Objectives for this training • Review current STAAR Assessments • Understand requirements for participation in STAAR Alternate assessments for 2012-2013 • Understand ARD committee responsibilities regarding the STAAR Alternate Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

7. Let’s Review Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

8. Student Assessment Division • Assessment Resources http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/ • Resource pages • STAAR • STAAR Modified • STAAR Alternate • STAAR L • TELPAS • TAKS • TAKS Modified • Student Assessment Resources • A-Z Directory • Subscribe to the Student Assessment Mailing List • What’s New in Student Assessment Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

9. STAAR Grades 3 – 8Based on GRADE enrollment Includes modified and alternate assessments Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

10. STAAR End-of-Course Assessments (EOC)Based on COURSE enrollment NEW Includes modified and alternate assessments Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

11. Which test do students take? Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

12. STAAR Assessments for ELLs Receiving Special Education Services • STAAR in English • STAAR in Spanish (grades 3-5) • STAAR Modified • STAAR Alternate • STAAR L in English The ARD-C and LPAC must collaborate on assessment and accommodations decisions Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

13. Questions? Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

14. Who takes STAAR Alternate? • Students receiving special education services who: • Have a significant cognitive disability • Access TEKS through prerequisite skills • Require supports throughout the day for nonacademic tasks • Need specialized instruction in the natural environment • Are routinely assessed through performance tasks • There are no limits on the number of students who can take a STAAR Alternate assessment, however… • Up to 1% of the tested population can be counted as proficient for AYP when tested with STAAR Alternate. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

15. How does STAAR Alternate measure the grade-level TEKS? • STAAR Reporting Category • TEKS Vertical Alignment • Assessed Curriculum • TEKS • Curriculum Frameworks • Prerequisite Skills • Essence Statement • Assessment Tasks Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

16. TEKS Vertical Alignment Documents • Complete listing of the TEKS academic content standards from prekindergarten through all high school courses on the minimum high school program. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

17. TEKS Curriculum Frameworks • Organized by STAAR Reporting Categories • Summarizes the grade-level TEKS into an “essence statement” • Lists prerequisite skills for a specific essence statement Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

18. Essence Statements Three of the four essence statements are NEW this year. STAAR Reporting Category Essence Statement Assessed TEKS Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

19. Essence Statements • Prerequisite skill targets have been added to the Essence Statement documents to inform teachers as to the grade-level link for the tasks Assessed essence statements are lettered ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

20. Standardized Assessment Tasks STAAR Reporting Category Complexity Level 2 Assessed TEKS Essence Statement Complexity Level 3 Complexity Level 1 Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

21. Assessment TasksDefinitions and Examples • The Definitions and Examples pages for the assessment tasks have been expanded. • These pages proceed each essence statement and provide valuable information and ideas for the tasks. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

22. ARD Decision-Making • If STAAR, with or without accommodations, is NOT appropriate for a student, the ARD committee must review participation requirements for one of the alternate assessments. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

23. ARD Decision-Making for STAAR Alternate Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

24. Changes to the ARD Process • Only ARD committees can select the complexity level or levels for each subject. • The teacher can no longer select the complexity level and must abide by the ARD committee decision. • If the teacher feels that the selected complexity level no longer reflects the student’s performance, the ARD committee must reconvene to evaluate the previous decision. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

25. STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements Page 1 The 2013-2014 Participation Requirements have been posted in both Spanish and English. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

26. Participation Requirements Note the date on the form • STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements • State-required documentation form • Must be completed and retained by the district when eligibility for an alternate assessment is confirmed • MUST be included in the IEP Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

27. Participation Requirements Determine who is responsible for verifying the information. • The district personnel named in the form is responsible for making sure the ARD committee discusses each section • The district personnel who completes these forms should be a member of the ARD committee who can verify the information on the form • These forms should be completed during the ARD committee meeting when assessment decisions are made. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

28. Step I: Review the Eligibility Criteria • Eligibility is considered for all tested subjects in the student’s enrolled grade or enrolled EOC courses • The answer to all 5 eligibility questions must be YES. • If the answer to any of the questions is NO, the student is not eligible to participate in STAAR Alternate and must participate in one of the other statewide assessments. If the student is eligible to take STAAR Alternate, then he/she must take this assessment for all subjects/courses. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

29. Step I: Review the Eligibility Criteria • The ARD committee must review each of the five questions and circle YES or NO. • Each “Yes” answer requires a justification that contains evidence that the student meets the criteria. The recorded justification does not have to be referenced by IEP page numbers, but should be based on quantifiable evidence. Based on PLAAFP; narrative/anecdotal; not just IEP page/section number Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

30. Eligibility Criteria – Question 1 • A significant cognitive disability is determined by the ARD committee and must be based on evaluation information performed by a qualified evaluation team. • The disability must affect the student’s intellectual potential and be documented in the student’s IEP. • A student with a significant cognitive disability has limited potential to reach grade-level expectations. • While a student with a learning disability may have academic challenges, he or she has the intellectual potential to reach grade-level expectations and, therefore, is not eligible to take STAAR Alternate. Justification (Example): Based on Amy’s most current FIE, her full scale IQ falls well below 70 indicating a limitation in intellectual functioning. Adaptive behavior scales indicate significant deficits in the following domains: self-care, socialization, and communication skills. The team agrees that she meets the eligibility criteria for STAAR Alternate as a student with an intellectual disability. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

31. Eligibility Criteria – Question 2 Justification (Example): Amy has difficulty attending to tasks and requires numerous redirections to stay focused. When in a large group for instruction, Amy is easily distracted and does not process language well. Her expressive language delays make it difficult for Amy to express her needs in a large group. Because of this, Amy requires specialized instruction in a small group setting for academic skills. Amy’s weak language skills also make it difficult for her to respond appropriately in social situations; therefore, she requires assistance during nonacademic school activities. Amy requires assistance to perform all self-care skills. • Federal regulations mandate that all students have access to and be assessed on grade-level curriculum. • To access the grade-level curriculum, a student with a significant cognitive disability needs specialized academic instruction. • Additionally, a student eligible for STAAR Alternate requires support throughout the day in areas such as communicating needs, navigating the classroom or school building, eating lunch, negotiating social situations, and/or taking care of personal needs. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

32. Eligibility Criteria – Question 3 Justification (Example): Amy’s short attention span and distractibility require her to need numerous repetitions and drill in order to retain knowledge. Additionally, she acquires and retains knowledge best when skills are taught in the setting or situation in which the skill naturally occurs. For example, to address a social studies prerequisite skill involving economics, Amy was more successful in purchasing an item in the school store rather than in a classroom simulation. • The student needs specialized academic instruction and techniques over a period of time to learn and retain information. • Instruction in a variety of settings is required in order for the student to transfer skills (generalize). Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

33. Eligibility Criteria – Question 4 Justification (Example): Although Amy shows relative strengths in the areas of math calculation and math reasoning, she is performing skills that are several grade levels behind her grade 8 peers in all academic areas. Her access to the grade-level TEKS is through prerequisite skills. • Access to the grade-level curriculum is mandated by the federal government. • A student with a significant cognitive disability requires access to the TEKS through prerequisite skills. • Prerequisite skills are student expectations from previous grades that are linked to the grade-level curriculum. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

34. Eligibility Criteria – Question 5 Justification (Example): Amy has limited writing skills, is easily frustrated with writing tasks, and produces written work only through the use of assistive technology. If allowed to demonstrate skills through manipulation or technology, Amy is much more successful. A one-day multiple choice test is not appropriate to show mastery of skills. Amy’s teachers routinely take data on IEP goals after observing performance tasks. • Although a student may be able to perform some academic tasks such as writing simple phrases or sentences, reading short sentences, or calculating mathematics problems, he or she is typically evaluated by methods other than paper and pencil. • A one-day, multiple-choice test would not be an appropriate format to effectively measure what a student has learned. • Observation of student performance while the student manipulates items, verbalizes responses, eye gazes, or activates an augmentative communication device provides more accurate measurement of skills. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

35. STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements Page 2 Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

36. Step II: Discuss Assurances • If “Yes” is indicated for all of the eligibility questions for STAAR Alternate, the ARD committee must discuss the assurances in Step II, and the district personnel completing the form must initial each one after it is discussed. Initials Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

37. Step II: Discuss Assurances • the district personnel completing the form must assure that the committee discussed the impact of the decision on graduation plans. Elementary/MS High School Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

38. Step II: Discuss Assurances • Students are only eligible to take STAAR Alternate if they are accessing the curriculum through prerequisite skills. For high school students, EOC courses are denoted by a special PEIMS code for each course required on the MHSP. “Alternate” course codes end in “7” Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

39. PEIMS Codes for EOC Courses • Codes are provided for all 12 of the original EOC courses • Be sure the student is enrolled in the alternate course with the appropriate PEIMS code • Districts should continue to use these PEIMS codes, even though the alternate assessment will be revised for next year Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

40. “ARD Guide for Determining High School STAAR Alternate Assessments” • For grades 3-8, the enrolled grade determines the subjects that will be tested. • Students are required to participate in all STAAR Alternate EOC assessments sometime during high school • The ARD committee determines what year each high school course and assessment will be taken. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

41. Step III: Summarize Assessment Decisions • Indicate the subjects in which the student will take STAAR Alternate based on meeting the eligibility criteria. • The subject/course • Enter the complexity level Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

42. Questions? Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

43. Making the Complexity Level Decision • The ARD committee will make the decision for which complexity level or combinations of complexity levels are appropriate for a student for each subject being assessed. • The teacher must abide by the decision. ARD Process for Selecting the Complexity Level for STAAR Alternate Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

44. Making the Complexity Level Decision • The first step in selecting the complexity level is to pinpoint which characteristics from the complexity level or indicators of progress box best describe the student’s maximum performance for a given subject. • This decision should be based on challenging expectations and be indicative of how the student is expected to perform after instruction. Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

45. Making the Complexity Level Decision • The ARD committee will determine that the student will be assessed for each subject/course on: • A specific complexity level for all tasks for all four essence statements per subject/course, OR • A range between two complexity levels as determined by the indicators of progress Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

46. “Student Characteristics for the STAAR Alternate Complexity Levels” • The ARD committee must use this chart to find the best description of the student’s performance before determining the complexity level or combinations of levels to be used for the assessment. Level 3 Level 2 Indicators of Progress Level 1 NRO Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

47. What is the difference between the complexity levels? Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

48. Complexity Level 3 Application of Knowledge Level 3 Complexity Level Student: • Decides which materials are needed for a specific task on his or her own or from a wide array of appropriate and inappropriate options • Develops or adjusts strategies to accomplish a specific task • Interprets or analyzes information • Formulates original responses to questions requiring higher-level thinking skills Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

49. Complexity Level 3 • Complexity Level 3 assessment tasks are the most complex and involve applying knowledge beyond basic recall. • Some of the skills students at this level are expected to demonstrate may include: • determining distinguishing features, organizing information, comparing components, generating ideas, making inferences, and justifying answers. No choices can be given. The student must demonstrate the skill “on his or her own.” • Level 3 requires a student to: • internalize skills beyond basic recall • use higher–level thinking skills • arrive at answers “on his or her own” as choices cannot be provided • gather information or demonstrate skills using a wide array of materials Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)

50. Complexity Level 2 Basic understanding Level 2 Complexity Level Student: • Correctly makes choices when at least three options are provided • Distinguishes the varying characteristics of items • Answers literal questions posed to him or her • Recalls information previously learned Provided by ESC Region XI (Source: TEA Student Assessment Division)