ESC Region 11
Assessment, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement
November 2, 2021
Texas Home Learning UPDATES
- TCLAS Update - High-Quality After School: TEA will be opening an application for TCLAS: High Quality Afterschool supports to design and implement after school programs using High-Quality Instructional Materials or aligning with the school day.
- TCLAS Onboarding Webinar Recordings: Check out the TCLAS website to access recordings and slides from any of the TCLAS decision 2 and 3 webinars.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ACTION ITEMS
REMINDER: ESF Diagnostic Survey closing Friday, November 19
Emailed information and reminders will go out today, November 8, and November 15.
The survey will close Friday, November 19th.
How are you doing since your ESF Diagnostic?
ESF Diagnostic Follow-Up Survey: https://forms.office.com/r/Gj8uLVjeLb
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
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS & UPDATES
Reminder: Short Guide to School Improvement Grants
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LmttIQadGl7ToEFOt_N1FXHFSX9yecPk/view?usp=sharing
Reminder: Title I, 1003 School Improvement Grant Application in eGrants
We recognize that Part 3: Strategies to Support Comprehensive Campuses is not aligned to the revised Effective Schools Framework. We apologize for this mistake and ask that you please use the following guidance when supporting LEAs to complete this portion of the grant application.
When completing Part 3: Strategies to Support Comprehensive Campuses of the grant application, please note that Actions 1, 2, 3, and 6 are accurate as they are described. However, actions 4 and 5 are not accurately aligned to the Effective Schools Framework. Please use the descriptions below for Action 4 and Action 5:
Action 4: Build capacity in the use of daily high-quality instructional materials aligned to instructional planning calendars and interim and formative assessments
Action 5: Build capacity to implement effective classroom routines and instructional strategies
Title I, 1003 School Improvement Grant Launch Webinar Recording, slides and FAQ
2020-2021 Title I, 1003 School Improvement Grant PR9100 is OPEN!
The final compliance report for all LEAs that received the 2020-2021 Title I, 1003 School Improvement Grant, the PR9100, is a required submission for grant compliance. The PR9100 remains open for 60 days and will close on November 8, 2021. This form is identical to last year’s submission and a sample mock up can be found here.
ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY
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