@ESCRegion11
District Testing Coordinators Newsletter
Welcome! Questions, comments, or concerns? Contact me!
@dmattjoiner
College/Career Readiness & Assessment Consultant
Education Service Center, Region 11
1451 S. Cherry Ln. | White Settlement, TX 76108
E: mjoiner@esc11.net | C: 940-399-8120 | O: 817-740-3693 | F: 817-740-7600
Public Notice of Texas Request of a Waiver from 1.0 Percent State Cap on the Percentage of Students Who Take an Alternate Assessment
The purpose of this email is to notify districts that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has provided notice and information regarding this waiver request to the general public by publishing a notice in the Texas Register on Friday, November 10, 2017. The Draft of Texas’s Waiver Request Regarding STAAR Alternate 2 is available on the TEA website. You may submit comments regarding this waiver request through 5:00 PM (CT), Monday, December 11, 2017, via email to assessmentwaiver@tea.texas.gov.
Note that TEA will not respond to individual comments but will incorporate the comments from districts in finalizing the waiver requests before submission to the USED.
Texas Education Agency
Student Assessment Division
assessmentwaiver@tea.texas.gov
512-463-9536
Upcoming STAAR Activities
December 2017 STAAR end-of-course (EOC) administration
• Specific Braille Instructions and Transcribing Griddable Questions Student Documents (posted November 20)
• Additional Orders Reminder (deadline November 22)
Spring 2018 STAAR administrations
• April and May 2018 STAAR OOD and OOS Test Site Directory (registration November 17, 2017–January 5, 2018)
• May 2018 STAAR Participation Counts Collection Reminder (deadline November 17)
DECEMBER 2017 STAAR EOC ADMINISTRATION
• Specific Braille Instructions and Transcribing Griddable Questions Student Documents
The following materials are required during the December 2017 STAAR EOC administration.
Specific Braille Instructions
Specific braille instructions are included in the braille kits that are scheduled to be delivered to districts by November 27. These instructions will also be available for download beginning November 20 in the Help section of the STAAR Assessment Management System at https://www.TexasAssessment.com/STAAR/.
Coordinators are responsible for providing the specific braille instructions to test administrators. Test administrators must review the instructions prior to testing to help them prepare for the administration. In some cases, the test administrator will need to provide the student with manipulatives, such as coins or geometric figures. All materials and equipment needed by the student, including allowable testing accommodations, should be gathered or prepared before testing begins. Refer to each specific accommodation policy for student eligibility criteria and special instructions.
Transcribing Griddable Questions Student Documents
The Transcribing Griddable Questions student document must be provided to students who are eligible for the Basic Transcribing accommodation and will not be using the standard answer document for a mathematics assessment. This includes students who use large-print materials or students who have a disabling condition that prevents them from effectively recording responses in the bubbles on the answer document.
The Transcribing Griddable Questions Training Document and student documents will be available November 20 in the Help section on the STAAR Assessment Management System at http://www.TexasAssessment.com/STAAR/. These materials should be downloaded and printed as needed prior to the administration of the test. Distribute the Transcribing Griddable Questions student documents to test administrators during check- out of secure test materials.
For questions about the use of these materials, contact the Student Assessment Division at 512-463-9536. For questions about braille kit shipments or accessing documents, contact the Texas Assessment Support Center at 855-333-7770 or STAAR3-8@ets.org or STAAREOC@ets.org.
• Additional Orders Reminder
Districts needing more test materials must place additional orders through the STAAR Assessment Management System. The deadline to order additional materials for the December 2017 STAAR EOC administration is November 22, 2017.
For instructions on ordering additional materials, refer to the STAAR Assessment Management System User's Guide, available at http://www.TexasAssessment.com/technology/.
SPRING 2018 STAAR ADMINISTRATIONS
• April and May 2018 STAAR OOD And OOS Test Site Directory
ETS is creating the out-of-district (OOD) and out-of-school (OOS) test site directory for the April and May 2018 STAAR EOC administrations. Beginning November 17, 2017, the STAAR OOD and OOS Test Site Registration form for the April and May 2018 administrations will be available at http://forms.texasassessment.com/ood-test-site-collection. Districts must register each participating test site via the test site registration form for each STAAR administration. Information from previous registrations will NOT carry forward to any subsequent administrations. Test site registration for the April and May 2018 STAAR administrations must be completed by January 5, 2018.
• May 2018 STAAR Participation Counts Collection Reminder
As noted in a previous email, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is requiring all Texas school districts to review participation counts and update information as needed for each of their campuses. This is a reminder that the window to update participation counts for the May 2018 STAAR grades 3–8 and end-of-course (EOC), including Algebra II and English III, administrations will close at 11:00 PM (CT) on Friday, November 17, 2017.
Districts will not have an opportunity to update participation counts after the close of the collection window indicated above. It is therefore important to use this opportunity to ensure that participation counts are accurate.
Algebra II and English III assessments will be available for districts to administer on an optional basis. Districts that elect to offer either Algebra II or English III, or both assessments, must administer the applicable tests to all students in the district who are enrolled in these courses.
For questions or assistance regarding the information in this communication, contact the Texas Assessment Support Center at 855-333-7770 or STAAR3-8@ets.org or STAAREOC@ets.org.
Upcoming Dates
2017:
o November 29: MATS, Dallas ISD
2018:
o January 22, 9AM-4PM: DTC Annual Training, ESC 11 (https://ontrac.esc11.net/session.asp?sess_Num=012165&Wksp_Num=006955) - Email mjoiner@esc11.net for the registration password
o January 24: MATS, Grand Prairie ISD
o February 14, 1-4PM: TSNAP TETN, ESC 11 (https://ontrac.esc11.net/session.asp?sess_Num=012136&Wksp_Num=006952)
o February 22: MATS, Richardson ISD
o March 8: MATS, Lewisville ISD
o April 12: MATS, Duncanville ISD
o May 23: MATS, Plano ISD
o June 6, 1-4PM: TSNAP TETN, ESC 11 (https://ontrac.esc11.net/session.asp?sess_Num=012147&Wksp_Num=006952)
o October 3, 1-4PM: TSNAP TETN, ESC 11 (https://ontrac.esc11.net/Session.asp?wksp_num=006952&sess_num=012161)
Additional Event Information
Student Assessment TETNs:
These dates will be sent to you as they are scheduled and announced.
TSNAP TETNs:
- February 14, 2018 | 1:00-4:00PM
- June 6, 2018 | 1:00-4:00PM
- October 3, 2018 | 1:00-4:00PM
***Reminder: Districts must have the TETN contract in place to participate remotely and/or view recordings of these events.***
***Individuals joining any these sessions remotely must register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdTgEwmcdJpIT3tOnfPlyks9v_j0An_BEtuis2BkadiCx4cA/viewform and must complete this (http://www.esc11.net/cms/lib3/TX21000259/Centricity/Domain/705/Attendance%20Form.pdf) attendance form.***
***Individuals in districts with TETN contracts in place who wish to view video recordings of these trainings after the event should contact Matt Joiner at mjoiner@esc11.net.***
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Eduphoria/DMAC
Liz Schrader
817-740-7504
ELL Assessments/TELPAS
Gretchen Kroos
817-740-7630
STAAR Alt 2
Caroll Brant
817-740-7537