TAA FOR SPRING PAPER TESTING

TEA released a TAA stating districts will have access to an optional process to request additional paper test materials for the spring 2023 STAAR administration to assist districts with the implementation of the first year of administering STAAR primarily online. For students already qualified and registered for a special paper administration of STAAR, there are no changes in testing policies or procedures.

The additional STAAR paper test materials may be used for other students. District leadership may decide which students will be administered STAAR using the additional paper test materials. Orders for additional STAAR paper materials may not exceed one percent of the number of students that the district currently has registered in TIDE.

The additional paper order window will be March 20th - 24th.

Please click here to view the TAA.

More information will be released on March 10th.

Early Guidance Tables For Spring Assessments
TEA released an updated document with guidance tables for spring assessments by grade level and subject area. Click here to access the updated guidance tables. See the example below.

GROWTH TABLE CUT HIGH/LOW CUT POINTS
TEA released Growth Table High/Low Cut Points for STAAR 2021 and 2022. Educators can use tables to determine performance levels for students to make growth for 2023 Accountability. Click here to access the tables.

SCORE CODES

UPDATES TO THE DISTRICT AND CAMPUS COORDINATOR RESOURCES

The training video How to Change Score Codes has been posted to the District and Campus Coordinator Resources. This video reviews how to change score codes manually, how to view score code change requests, and how to use the bulk upload feature. Refer to the Updates to Coordinator Resources section for additional updates since this resource was posted in August.

For questions or assistance regarding the information in this communication, contact Texas Testing Support at 833-601-8821, TexasTestingSupport@cambiumassessment.com, or TexasAssessment.gov via live chat.

Test Security Video in the Learning Mangagement System

TEST SECURITY FOR THE TEXAS ASSESSMENT PROGRAM

Length: 30 minutes

In this module, we will review test security and confidentiality, testing irregularities and serious testing violations.

https://tx.tms.pearson.com/

INTERIM EDUCATOR GUIDE

The Interim Educator Guide has been released on the TEA Interim webpage.

Tips for TFAR One-Pager
The Region 7 Assessment Team has created a one-pager for TFAR. Please click here to view this resource. If you would like to learn more about TFAR, please contact a member of our team.

TEA STAAR REDESIGN WEBINAR FOR TEACHERS
TEA will have a series of webinars for educators to learn about the STAAR Redesign. This is a repeat of webinars from earlier this school year. Please use the links below for TEA webinars to attend. If you are not able to attend any of these webinars, you may participate in our Region 7 Online Course that covers the same content.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022 | Noon–1PM (CST)

Thursday, December 1, 2022 | 4PM–5PM (CST)

Friday, December 2, 2022 | 3PM–4PM (CST)

STAAR REDESIGN TEA ONLINE COURSE
Join our online course to learn more about the background of the STAAR Redesign and the important features of the redesign if you are unable to join one of the TEA lead STAAR Redesign Webinars. Please click here to register for this session.

Educators can learn more about the STAAR Redesign by clicking here to view the frequently asked questions.

STAAR REDESIGN TIMELINES AND SCORING
Please click here to view the TAA and the supporting materials. Here districts can see an example of how a district might use the raw scores for summer learning. These preliminary determination documents will be available at the end of May for EOC and August for grades 3-8.


PROCTORED VS UNPROCTORED SESSIONS
Please click here to view a video explaining the difference between Proctored and Unproctored Sessions with Cambium.


STAAR TEST ADMINISTRATOR MANUAL IN THE DCCR
Please click here to see the new STAAR Administrator Manual.


CAI DRAW FUNCTIONALITY
The graphing tool in the Test Delivery System (TDS) has been updated to include a draw functionality. The tool has been renamed Graph/Draw and is available starting November 7, 2022, for mathematics, science, and social studies tests.

2022 STAAR REDESIGN TEST RELEASE (Spring Test): TEA has released the 2022 STAAR Redesign Tests in the Cambium Practice Site. Educators, students, and parents can access the redesigned STAAR test by logging in as a guest (or for students with their TSDS number if desired) and clicking on the box that says 2022 STAAR Redesign Practice Test.

NEW 2023 TESTING GUIDES (UPDATED): The 2023 Testing (Accompanying) Guides have been updated. The item types included are final. The Math Guide has been updated to merge Text Entry and Equation Editor. The Reading Guide has been updated to include Short Entry Response for Writing and Short Entry Response for Reading.

Redesign of STAAR-BEGINNING 2022-23

• the addition of new non-multiple-choice questions that give students more ways to show their understanding and better reflect questions teachers ask in the classroom;
• the addition of a writing component to reading assessments for grades 3–8 to better support the interconnected way these subjects are taught; and
• the incorporation of more cross-curricular passages into the new reading language arts (RLA) assessments so that test questions can reference topics students have learned about in other classes.

TEA is removing the maximum time allowed for STAAR assessments

Students are expected to complete STAAR tests in about three hours.

TELPAS

TELPAS reading and writing domains will be combined in an online test for students in grades 2–12 this year. Because of this new standardized version of a writing assessment, districts will no longer need to holistically rate writing samples for students in grades 2–12.

BEGINNING-OF-YEAR ASSESSMENTS

The test administration window for the optional Beginning-of-Year (BOY) assessments is August 30–October 21, 2022. Refer to the Optional Beginning-of-Year Assessments webpage for more information and resources, as well as a BOY Assessments Overview training available in the Learning Management System (LMS). Student results, including the confidential campus rosters, district and campus summary reports, and student data files, will be available in the Centralized Reporting System (CRS).

https://login6.cambiumtds.com/student_core/V51/Pages/LoginShell.aspx?c=Texas_PT&a=Student&v=51

HB 3906 establishes a cap so that no more than 75% of any STAAR test can be multiple choice. New item types will make up at least 25% of the test—with a wider variety made possible by the transition to electronic assessments. These changes take effect for all STAAR tests by the 2022–23 school year.

TEXAS FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT RESOURCE

The test administration window for the Texas Formative Assessment Resource (TFAR) opens on August 30, 2022. The first units available will be for reading language arts (RLA) and mathematics, with additional units being added throughout the year. Refer to the Texas Formative Assessment Resource webpage for more information, as well as a Sharing Content in TFAR training available in LMS. Student results will be available in CRS.

STAAR Released Tests

PDF versions of the 2022 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) released tests for reading language arts (RLA), science, and social studies will be available on the STAAR Released Test Questions webpage beginning August 23. The 2022 STAAR mathematics released tests will be posted in September. In addition to PDF versions of the released tests, answer keys and item rationales will also be available. Districts can also access the online versions of the 2022 released tests through the Practice Test Site.

https://login6.cambiumtds.com/student_core/V41/Pages/LoginShell.aspx?c=Texas_PT

CAMBIUM/ACCOUNTABILITY

2022-2023 CAMBIUM RESET: The Cambium applications are now open. Trainings have been added to the Learning Management System (LMS). Before logging into the LMS for the first time, educators must log into TIDE and change their password. Any educator that needs access to the LMS must have a TIDE account.

https://www.texasassessment.gov/testing-personnel.html

Trainings that are currently available through the LMS are:
* Technology Requirements for the Texas Assessment Program
* The Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE)
* TIDE Enhancements for 2022-2023 School Year
* STAAR Alternate 2 Overview
* STAAR Alternate 2 Eligibility
* Texas Through-Year Assessment Pilot (TTAP) Overview
* Texas Formative Assessment Resource (TFAR) Authoring System



2022 STAAR RELEASED TESTS: The 2022 STAAR Released Tests for RLA, Science, and Social Studies are set to be available on the STAAR Released Test Questions webpage beginning August 23rd. The Math test is set to be released in September.



2022 ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS: Districts and campuses may access their Accountability Rating Data Tables by clicking here.



2022 STAAR REPORTS: Districts and campuses may access STAAR reports for themselves or the Region by clicking here.



TEA OPTIONAL ASSESSMENT RESOURCES: TEA released a TAA outlining the optional assessment available for the 2022-2023 school year. Districts and campuses may engage in STAAR Interims, TFAR, and Beginning-of-Year Assessments through the online testing platform.

TEA will pilot the following grade levels and subjects during school year 2022-2023. Additional grade levels and subjects will be added to the pilot in following years.

• Grade 5 science
• Grade 6 math
• Grade 7 math
• Grade 8 social studies

House Bill 3906, 86th Texas Legislature, 2019, required the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to develop and pilot an innovative, through-year assessment model as a possible replacement of the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) summative tests. A through-year assessment model refers to a progress monitoring system that provides students multiple opportunities throughout the school year to demonstrate their mastery of standards and to contribute to their summative performance level reported at the end of the year.

TTAP has been designed in collaboration with Texas educators, administrators, students, and families. The progress monitoring system will have three, short testing opportunities – one in the fall, winter, and spring. To ensure that all districts can retain their local curriculum, each TTAP progress monitoring opportunity will cover the full scope of the curriculum. Each opportunity will use a multi-stage adaptive design, allowing for shorter tests with greater accuracy to minimize the disruption to instructional time.

New items will:

• engage students with a wide variety of interactive

• allow students to more actively demonstrate proficiency

• assess more content in fewer items

• assess different levels of thinking

• provide teachers more specific data

• positively impact instruction and student learning

STAAR Redesign Website

Reading Language Arts New Item Type Guide with Scoring Information

Science New Item Type Guide with Scoring Information

Social Studies New Item Type Guide with Scoring Information

The STAAR redesign includes several components:

• Online Testing and Accommodations
• New Question Types
• Cross-curricular Passages
• Evidence-based Writing

More information about the STAAR redesign can be found below. For answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ), please reference the STAAR Redesign FAQ (PDF, posted 5/2/22).

Resources to Support Online Testing and Accommodations:

• Transition to STAAR Online Assessments Implementation Guide (PDF posted 11/02/21)
• List of Vendor and Regional Supports for Transition to Online (PDF posted 11/02/21)
• TEA Transition To Online Testing Infrastructure Grant
• State of Texas Transition to Online Assessments Feasibility Study (PDF posted 12/01/20)
• Video summary of the transition to online testing
• Special Paper Administration of an Online Test Policy (PDF posted 1/27/22)
• Video overview of online STAAR accommodations

Resources to Support New Question Types

• Online samplers of new question types
• Answer keys to online samplers of new question types
• New question types by grade level and content area (PDF posted 1/27/22)
• New question types scoring and reporting guides
  • Reading Language Arts (PDF posted 1/27/22)
  • Science (PDF posted 1/27/22)
  • Social Studies (PDF posted 1/27/22)
  • Spanish Reading Language Arts (PDF posted 1/27/22)

New Item Sampler

Districts can utilize the New Item Sampler to view the proposed the new item types. Please click here to access the proposed new item types. Those item types are in green at the top of the available grade level tests.

https://login6.cambiumtds.com/student_core/V41/Pages/LoginShell.aspx?c=Texas_PT

House Bill 3906 (HB 3906) requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to investigate and develop a transition plan to administer all State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) tests electronically by school year 2022–2023. A fully electronic administration will expedite test results, reduce costs, and promote future innovations in assessments.

2021–22 STAAR Reading Language Arts (RLA) Information
As we transition to the redesigned STAAR RLA tests in 2023, a one-year modification to the RLA assessments will be necessary for the 2021–22 school year. This modification supports implementation of changes to the STAAR program made by HB 3906, 86th Texas Legislative Session, 2019, which will be implemented for the first time in 2023.

This is the new link for Texas Assessments

https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/testing/optional-beginning-of-year-assessments

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has created optional online interim assessments that align to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Test questions for the STAAR Interim Assessments are developed with Texas teachers and include some former STAAR items. These assessments will be available at no cost to districts and open-enrollment charter schools, and they are not tied to accountability.

https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/testing/staar/staar-interim-assessments

STAAR Online Testing Enhancements

Districts can now select two distinct levels of support for online oral administrations beginning in December 2021. The online embedded text-to-speech (TTS) tool allows an eligible student to have either of the following support options:

• Selecting any eligible test question and answer choice to be read aloud using the TTS tool, or
  
• Having all eligible parts of the test be automatically read aloud in the order they are presented.
  

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has created an optional online formative assessment resource that aligns to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This tool will be available at no cost to districts and charter schools, and is not tied to accountability. The Texas Formative Assessment Resource (TFAR) is an assessment tool designed to inform teaching decisions and improve instructional supports.

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Tutorials

https://booknook.vhx.tv/lesson-type-overviews-and-curriculum