ESC Region 11
Assessment, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement
November 16, 2021
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ACTION ITEMS
REMINDER: ESF Diagnostic Survey closing Friday, November 19
Emailed information and reminders went out on November 15th.
The survey will close Friday, November 19th.
TIP Cycle 1 Progress Due December 17
TIP Cycle 1 Progress is due to TEA on December 17th. We will be sending information on how to complete the cycle review and update the next cycle before Thanksgiving.
Please be on the lookout for this information. Contact your case manager with any questions.
ESF Diagnostic Preparation Course for LEAs
The Center for Effective Schools has built an ESF Diagnostic Preparation Course for LEAs. This course is designed to prepare campuses for their upcoming ESF Diagnostic. Campuses can use this course as a way to walk their team through the Effective Schools Framework and gain a deeper understanding of each diagnostic step. Campuses can access the course using the link and eCampus code below.
Course: ESF Diagnostic Preparation
eCampus code: FA2146483
How are you doing since your ESF Diagnostic?
ESF Diagnostic Follow-Up Survey: https://forms.office.com/r/Gj8uLVjeLb
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES
Reminder: Short Guide to School Improvement Grants
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LmttIQadGl7ToEFOt_N1FXHFSX9yecPk/view?usp=sharing
ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY
House Bill (HB) 3 Implementation: College Preparation Assessment Reimbursements
TEA sent out a TTA yesterday to announce the application release for districts to request reimbursement for the ACT and SAT as authorized by House Bill (HB) 3, 86th Texas Legislature, 2019.
Methodology
TEA receives testing data directly from ACT and the College Board (SAT). In order to verify that each student is a unique Texas student enrolled in a Texas district or open-enrollment charter school, TEA matched each eligible student to a record in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) and separated the data into four categories:
School Day – Matched: Every eligible student who participated in an ACT and/or SAT School Day administration in Texas and who was matched to a student record in PEIMS.- National Day – Matched: Every eligible student who participated in an ACT and/or SAT National Day administration in Texas and who was matched to a student record in PEIMS.
- School Day/National Day – Unmatched: Any eligible student who participated in an ACT and/or SAT National Day and/or School Day administration and who was not matched to a student record in PEIMS. TEA will only reimburse unmatched students who have a TSDS Unique Student ID. The district must add this ID in the application for students for whom they want a reimbursement.
- Not Represented: Any student for whom the district paid for an assessment and is not found in any of the above categories. The district will have the opportunity to submit the student's information for a reimbursement request.
Please note that students who received a reimbursement in the 2019-2020 school year are not eligible to receive a reimbursement in the 2020-2021 school year.
Action from Districts
TEA announces the release of the ACT/SAT testing data to districts in TEA Login (TEAL) for districts to review, verify and submit for reimbursement. The person responsible for this project must have Accountability access in TEAL. Only the Superintendent can grant this level of access in TEAL.
In the TEAL application, districts will need to review the following four categories:
- School Day – Matched: This link provides access to an application where districts may review and select students for whom the district paid and who tested during a school day administration. These students are automatically considered for reimbursement; therefore, districts have the opportunity to remove students for whom they do not want reimbursement.
- National Day – Matched: This link provides access to an application where districts may review and select students for whom the district paid and who tested during a national day (weekend) administration. These students are not automatically considered for reimbursement; therefore, no action is needed if districts do not want reimbursement for listed students.
- School Day/National Day – Unmatched: This link provides access to an application where districts may select the students for whom the district paid and who tested during a national or school day administration. Because these students were not matched to a student in PEIMS, districts must add the TSDS Unique Student ID. No action is needed if districts do not want reimbursement for listed students.
- Not Represented: Any student for whom the district paid for an assessment and is not found in any of the above categories. The district will have the opportunity to submit the student for a reimbursement request through a Qualtrics survey while the TEAL application is open.
Dates and Deadlines
The application in TEAL opened on November 1, 2021, and closes on December 17, 2021.
Once the application closes, TEA will review the submission requests, combine them with Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) submission requests, and finalize reimbursement amounts. TEA will reimburse the highest cost exam.
Once settle-up occurs in April 2022, districts will be able to access through TEAL their reimbursement data, along with codes to elaborate on reimbursement decisions.
Test Design Resources
This section includes:
- Updated RLA assessed curriculum documents that identify the reading and writing student expectations that will be eligible for assessment on the redesigned RLA tests. Note: Mathematics, science, and social studies assessed curriculum documents will not change.
- Preliminary blueprints that show the distribution of questions, points, and readiness, and supporting standards across reporting categories on the redesigned tests. RLA blueprints also include test design information, including the number of passages, the reading load, and the genres eligible for assessment.
The link for the below charts can be found here. Please scroll down to Test Design Resources.
Update on Released Tests, Practice Tests, and Optional Assessments
Released Tests and Practice Tests
PDF versions of the 2021 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) released tests for all grades/subjects and courses are now available on the STAAR Released Test Questions webpage. In addition, answer keys, item rationales, and scoring rubrics are also available. The 2021 STAAR released tests will be available as online practice tests in the Cambium system in October 2021.
Educators and students can now access numerous online practice tests and practice sets in the Cambium system. The online practice tests are designed to familiarize students with the online testing environment, the available tools, and the various types of test questions. These tests provide students with an opportunity to interact with the test interface, respond to questions, and locate and use available tools. Currently, all 2018 and 2019 STAAR and STAAR Spanish-released tests are available as online practice tests. Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) released tests from 2017 and 2020 are also available as online practice tests.
Beginning-of-Year (BOY) Assessments
TEA is providing optional online BOY assessments for the 2021–2022 school year. BOY assessments can help schools gauge students’ understanding of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) as they begin the school year. BOY assessments have been built using released STAAR test questions that measure the TEKS. While the optional BOY assessments will be administered in early fall 2021, they are designed to diagnose students’ understanding of the TEKS from the previous school year. Therefore, the grade level of each student’s BOY assessment should be aligned to a student’s grade level from the previous school year. TEA will not use data from the BOY assessments for any accountability purposes.
BOY Assessments Key Dates
Key Dates - Resources
07/22/21- Frequently Asked Questions posted on BOY Assessments webpage
07/30/21 - BOY Assessment Overview training posted on Learning Management System (LMS)
08/16/21 - BOY assessment window opens
09/10/21 - Centralized Reporting System webinar recording posted on LMS
10/15/21 - BOY assessment window closes
STAAR Interim Assessments
TEA continues to offer optional online interim assessments that align with the TEKS. Test questions for the STAAR Interim Assessments have undergone field-testing and are developed with Texas teachers. The interim assessments are a tool that provides actionable data to help educators monitor progress and predict student performance on the STAAR summative assessments. The interim assessments are free, untimed, not part of the accountability system, and available to Texas public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools.
Interim Key Dates
Key Dates - Resources
08/18/21 - STAAR Interim Assessments Educator Guide posted on STAAR Interim Assessments webpage
08/20/21 - STAAR Interim Assessments Overview training posted on LMS
09/07/21 - Window 1 opens—mathematics and reading/language arts titles
09/10/21 - Centralized Reporting System webinar recording posted on LMS
09/17/21 - Educator Training Module posted on LMS
11/08/21 - Window 2 opens—science and social studies titles
12/17/21 - Window 1 closes
01/10/22 - Window 3 opens—mathematics and reading/language arts titles
04/15/22 - Windows 2 and 3 close
Texas Formative Assessment Resource (TFAR)
TFAR is a free platform that allows teachers to create, administer, analyze, and share formative assessments. It is a resource educators can use to supplement existing classroom formative practices to inform teaching decisions and improve instructional supports. TFAR is not tied to accountability and is available at no cost to Texas public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools. TFAR consists of a TEKS-aligned item bank, item-creator, test-builder, and data reports. Items created by TFAR users during the 2020–2021 school year will be integrated into the new system, and additional items will be added to TFAR’s item bank over time. TFAR should be used within a coherent instructional framework to support formative assessment practices.
TFAR Key Dates
Key Dates - Resources
09/03/21 - TFAR Authoring Modules posted on LMS
09/15/21 - TFAR goes live
Mid-September 2021- TFAR Educator Guide posted on TFAR webpage
10/01/21 - Educator Training Module posted on LMS
2021 Alternative Evaluation for Eligible Campuses
To the Superintendent Addressed:
This correspondence provides information about the 2021 accountability ratings alternative evaluation process, as prescribed by Senate Bill 1365 (87th Texas Legislature). Senate Bill 1365 established a 2021 alternative evaluation option for campuses that meet participation requirements and earned an unacceptable rating for the most recent year they were rated.
This alternative evaluation serves as a method for campuses to break the chain of consecutive years of unacceptable performance considering the 2021 Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster ratings. This process allows campuses to demonstrate they have made sufficient improvement using available data from the 2020-21 school year. If a campus meets these eligibility requirements and receives an overall A, B, or C rating when averaging the 2021 Student Achievement and School Progress, Part B: Relative Performance domain scaled scores, the campus will have the option to apply for an Acceptable rating label rather than Not Rated for 2021. Scaled scores will only be calculated for eligible campuses and only in these two domains. These outcomes will be shared with relevant districts in TEAL Accountability.
For additional information, including a detailed timeline of releases and submissions, please view the 2021 Alternative Evaluation FAQs on the Performance Reporting Resources webpage.
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- Laura McKean - Coordinator of School Improvement, Assessment, Accountability
- Nancy Copeland - School Improvement Assistant
- LaVonia Nelson - Data Specialist
- Elizabeth Schrader- Assessment and Accountability Consultant
- Carey Carter - School Improvement Consultant
- Jackie Fagan - Field Service Agent
- Laura Gallup - School Improvement Consultant
- Margo Nottingham - School Improvement Consultant
- Meredith Perry - School Improvement Consultant
Email: SI-reg11@esc11.net
Website: esc11.net
Location: 1451 Cherry Lane, White Settlement, TX, USA
Phone: (817) 740-3600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ESCR11CI
Twitter: @ESCR11_CI