The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) program beginning in spring 2012. The STAAR program at grades 3-8 will assess the same grades and subjects as are assessed on TAKS. For high school, general subject-area TAKS tests will be replaced with twelve STAAR end-of-course (EOC) assessments.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA), in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and Texas educators, is developing a new assessment system in response to requirements set forth by the 80th and 81st Texas legislatures. This new system will focus on increasing postsecondary readiness of graduating high school students and helping to ensure that Texas students are competitive with other students both nationally and internationally.

At grades 3-8, students will be tested in mathematics and reading. Students will also be tested in writing at grades 4 and 7, science at grades 5 and 8, and social studies at grade 8. STAAR EOC assessments will be available for Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and U.S. history.

The most significant changes to the assessment program include

• increasing the rigor of both the assessments and the performance standards for all grades, subjects, and courses;
• changing high school assessments from grade-based to course-based assessments;
• establishing postsecondary-readiness performance standards for Algebra II and English III; and
• using empirical validation studies as part of the standard-setting process to ensure that performance standards are linked from grade to grade and are also linked to external evidence of postsecondary readiness.

• The rigor of items has been increased by assessing skills at a greater depth and level of cognitive complexity. In this way the tests will be better able to measure a greater range of student achievement and establish stronger links to postsecondary readiness.
• The total number of test items for the STAAR assessments has been increased for most grades, subjects, and courses.
• A four-hour time limit has been established for STAAR assessments, as opposed to TAKS, which was untimed.
• Texas Education Agency
• Student Assessment Division
• August 2011
• STAAR assessments in mathematics and reading will be linked from grade to grade as well as to postsecondary-readiness standards for the Algebra II and English III assessments.
• STAAR assessments have been designed to focus on ―readiness‖ standards, which are defined as those Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) student expectations that are not only essential for success in the current grade or course but also important for preparedness in the next grade or course. By focusing on the student expectations that are most critical to assess, STAAR will better measure the academic performance of students as they progress from elementary to middle school to high school.
• STAAR EOC assessments will differ from the current TAKS high school assessments in that each STAAR EOC assessment will cover only the content from a particular course (e.g., Algebra I will assess only Algebra I content) rather than content from multiple courses (e.g., Algebra I and grade 8 mathematics were assessed on the TAKS grade 9 mathematics tests).
• STAAR writing assessments at grades 4 and 7 will be extended to two days.
• STAAR EOC assessments for English I, II, and III will be administered over two days, with the writing component on day one and the reading component on day two.
• The test designs for STAAR grades 4 and 7 writing and STAAR English I, II, and III will require students to write two essays addressing different purposes for writing rather than one longer personal essay, which TAKS required.
•  In reading assessments for STAAR, greater emphasis will be given to critical analysis rather than literal understanding. The test designs for English I, II, and III will allow for the reading and writing components to be equated and scaled separately so that reading and writing scores can be reported separately. This means that a student will need to retake only the portion of the STAAR English I, II, or III assessment (reading or writing) that he or she did not pass.
• Most STAAR mathematics and science assessments will have an increased number of open-ended (griddable) items to allow students the opportunity to derive an answer independently without being influenced by the answer choices provided with the questions.
• STAAR grade 3 assessments will have separate answer documents instead of scorable test booklets.

There will be two cut scores, which will identify three performance categories. For the general STAAR assessments, STAAR Modified, and STAAR L, the labels for the performance categories are

• Level III: Advanced Academic Performance
• Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance
• Level I: Unsatisfactory Academic Performance

For the STAAR Alternate assessments, the performance labels are

• Level III: Accomplished Academic Performance
• Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance
• Level I: Unsatisfactory Academic Performance

The timeline for standard-setting activities will differ for STAAR 3-8 and STAAR EOC because of the timing of available assessment data and different legislative requirements. For STAAR EOC, operational assessment data are available from the spring 2011 administrations. Therefore, performance standards will be set in February 2012, prior to the spring administrations. However, operational assessment data for STAAR 3-8 will not be available until after the spring 2012 administrations; for this reason performance standards will be set in October 2012.

Legislation requires a system of performance standards that are linked from grade to grade starting with postsecondary-readiness performance standards down through grade 3. Therefore, STAAR EOC performance standards must be established before standards for STAAR 3-8 can be set. Additionally, districts must be provided with test scores on STAAR EOC assessments so that they can be used as 15% of the students' final course grades for the 2011−2012 school year.

Because there will be no performance standards in place for grades 3-8 in the 2011-2012 school year, students cannot be held subject to SSI for that year. Therefore, there are no SSI requirements for the 2011-2012 school year.

SSI retest opportunities will not be offered in May or June of 2012 because performance standards for STAAR 3-8 will not be set until October 2012. For the 2011-2012 school year, districts will make promotion/retention decisions based on the same academic information (e.g., the recommendation of the student's teacher and the student's grade in the subject) used to make these decisions in non-SSI grades. As stated in TEC §28.021(a), ―a student may be promoted only on the basis of academic achievement or demonstrated proficiency of the subject matter of the course or grade level.‖

Students first enrolled in grade 9 or below in the 2011-2012 school year will be required to take the STAAR EOC assessments for courses in which they're enrolled as part of their graduation requirements and will no longer take TAKS. Students enrolled in grade 10 or above in the 2011-2012 school year or who are repeating grade 9 in the 2011-2012 school year will graduate under TAKS requirements and do not have the option of taking STAAR assessments. These students will only take STAAR EOC assessments if their campus has been assigned to participate in the mandatory testing activities.

Repeating grade 9 students in the 2011-2012 school year have TAKS as their graduation requirement. These students will not take the TAKS grade 9 assessments, as these tests are no longer available. However, districts may choose to administer a released TAKS test or a locally developed test to students. Students are eligible to take the TAKS grade 10 assessments as soon as they are reclassified as 10th graders.

Students in grades 3-8 who are also enrolled in a high school course will take that STAAR EOC assessment as required for graduation. Local district policies will determine whether these students are required to take the corresponding STAAR grade-level assessment; however, they must take all other STAAR grade-level assessments. For example, a grade 8 student enrolled in Algebra I will take STAAR grade 8 reading, science, and social studies as well as STAAR Algebra I. Local school district policy will determine whether this grade 8 student will also take the STAAR grade 8 mathematics assessment.

Students in grades 5 and 8 may not be denied promotion based on unsatisfactory performance on STAAR EOC assessments.

Note that this information reflects the language in House Bill 2135, which was passed by the 82nd Legislature, and is different from what was indicated in the April 22, 2011, district communication regarding the implementation of STAAR. Districts should keep in mind that decisions have not yet been made about how test scores for these students will be used in state or federal accountability.

These students will be required to take the STAAR assessment for the subject in which they are receiving instruction if the content covers the entire curriculum for that subject. For example, a student in grade 5 who is receiving instruction in grade 6 mathematics would take STAAR grade 5 reading and science but grade 6 mathematics if the advanced subject matter he or she is being taught covers all the TEKS required for grade 6 mathematics.

Students in grades 5 and 8 may not be denied promotion based on unsatisfactory performance on STAAR assessments above their enrolled grade level.

Districts should keep in mind that decisions have not yet been made about how test scores for these students will be used in state or federal accountability.

The score a student receives on a STAAR EOC assessment is required to count for 15% of the student's final grade in the course. Since grading policies are determined locally and TEA lacks statutory authority in this area, districts should establish local policies to implement this statutory requirement. For the STAAR English I, II, and III assessments, which have a separate reading and writing component, districts have discretion over how the scores from each component are used to calculate the 15% grading requirement. TEA is not planning to provide a method by which scale scores can be converted into grading systems because of wide variations in grading policy from district to district.

There is no corresponding requirement for students taking a modified or alternate assessment, so districts are not required to count STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate EOC assessment scores as 15% of a student's final course grade.

No. TAC §74.26(c), regarding credit for high school graduation, stipulates that ―credit for courses for high school graduation may be earned only if the student received a grade which is the equivalent of 70 on a scale of 100, based upon the essential knowledge and skills for each course.‖ A student whose final grade for a course is less than the equivalent of a 70 on a scale of 100 may not be given credit for that course, since by law the grade must include the student's score on the EOC assessment. Districts retain the same options that have always been available: (a) to use summer school or other remediation for purposes of allowing the student to reach a passing grade for the course or (b) to take the EOC assessment in subsequent administrations to increase that portion of the final grade.

Depending on their graduation program, students will be required to meet the passing standard, Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance (or at least achieve a predetermined minimum score), on eight to twelve STAAR EOC assessments. In order to graduate, a student must achieve a cumulative score that is at least equal to the product of the number of EOC assessments taken in that content area and a scale score that indicates satisfactory performance (Level II). For example, if the scale score range is 0-1000 and the passing standard, or satisfactory performance, is 700, a student would need to achieve a cumulative score of 2100 (3 assessments × 700 = 2100) in each of the four foundation content areas. A student must achieve a minimum score on an EOC assessment for the score to count toward his or her cumulative score. A student's cumulative score is determined using his or her highest score on each EOC assessment within a content area.

Cumulative score requirements do not apply to students taking STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate, as there are no cumulative score requirements planned for these programs.

Students graduating under the Minimum High School Program (MHSP) must take STAAR EOC assessments for all courses in which they are enrolled and for which there is a STAAR EOC assessment available and meet a cumulative score requirement in each of the four foundation content areas. It is possible that some students graduating on the minimum plan will need to perform satisfactorily on as few as eight EOC assessments.

Students graduating under the Recommended High School Program (RHSP) must take all twelve STAAR EOC assessments (Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and U.S. history) and meet the cumulative score requirement in each of the four foundation content areas. Additionally, these students must achieve Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance on the Algebra II and English III assessments in order to receive a diploma under the RHSP.

Students graduating under the Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP) must take all twelve EOC assessments and meet the cumulative score requirement in each of the four foundation content areas. In addition, these students must meet Level III: Advanced Academic Performance, the postsecondary-readiness performance standard, on the Algebra II and English III assessments in order to receive a diploma under the DAP.

If a student on the MHSP is enrolled in a course that is not specifically required on the MHSP (refer to TAC §74) and there is a STAAR EOC assessment for that course, the student must take the assessment, and the score a student receives must count for 15% of the student's final course grade. However, the student has the option of using the score in his or her cumulative score.

A student who has STAAR as his or her graduation requirement and who has completed a high school course prior to spring 2012 (e.g., a grade 8 student who completed Algebra I during the 2010-2011 school year or a freshman who will complete English I in the first semester of the 2011-2012 school year) is not required to take that specific STAAR EOC assessment to fulfill his or her graduation requirement. As a result, the student's cumulative score will be based on fewer assessments. However, the student could choose to take the assessment beginning in spring 2012 and has the option of using the score in his or her cumulative score. Scores on EOC assessments taken prior to spring 2012 will not count towards a student's cumulative score.

Students may use credit by examination to fulfill their course requirements; however, they are still required to take STAAR EOC assessments to fulfill their testing requirements.

TEA will be conducting studies to examine the test results of students who take both the STAAR EOC assessments and other assessments (e.g., AP, IB, and SAT subject tests) to determine if these assessments are at least as rigorous as the STAAR EOC assessments and may be used to meet the cumulative score requirement. If the research supports the validity of substitute assessments, a substitution policy may be implemented as early as the 2013-2014 school year.

All twelve STAAR EOC assessments will be administered at the end of the first semester, at the end of the second semester, and in the summer, giving students three testing opportunities each year. Note that there will not be an administration at the end of the first semester in the 2011-2012 school year as the state makes the transition from TAKS to STAAR.

As with TAKS-M, the new STAAR Modified assessments for grades 3-8 and for EOC will reflect the same content as the general assessments (i.e., STAAR). The STAAR Modified assessments will retain several features of the TAKS-M assessments; however, STAAR Modified will reflect the same increased rigor and focus of the general assessments. The tests will differ from the TAKS-M assessments in the following ways:

• New performance standards will be set for STAAR Modified using available empirical data to link performance across specific grades within a subject and across courses. Additional empirical data will be collected and analyzed to provide information for the standards review process in future years.
• The STAAR Modified EOC assessments will differ from the TAKS-M high school assessments in that each STAAR Modified EOC assessment will cover only the content from a particular course (e.g., Algebra I will assess only Algebra I content) rather than content from multiple courses (e.g., Algebra I and grade 8 mathematics were assessed on the grade 9 TAKS-M mathematics tests).
• The number of items on the STAAR Modified assessments will increase from the number of items on the TAKS-M tests. The number of items on the STAAR Modified assessments has been determined by decreasing the number of STAAR Modified blueprint items proportionally from the number of items on the STAAR blueprints-by approximately 20%-for each reporting category.
• Field-test items will be embedded in the modified assessments rather than administered as stand-alone field tests every three years.
• Students will be required to respond to writing tasks focused on different purposes for writing. These purposes include personal narrative, literary, expository, persuasive, and analytical writing.

STAAR Modified assessments will be developed for nine of the twelve EOC assessments: Algebra I, geometry, biology, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and U.S. history. STAAR Modified assessments will not be developed for Algebra II, chemistry, or physics, as these courses are not required on the Minimum High School Program, the graduation program for students who take STAAR Modified assessments.

The first administration of the STAAR Modified assessments will be in spring 2012. STAAR Modified EOC assessments will be administered two times per year (fall and spring) as they become operational. All nine STAAR Modified EOC assessments will be operational in the 2014-2015 school year.

Yes. A student can take any combination of STAAR and STAAR Modified assessments with the exception of the two components of the STAAR English I, II, and III assessments. If a student takes the writing component of the STAAR Modified English I assessment, he or she must also take the reading component of the STAAR Modified English I assessment.

The STAAR Alternate assessments will be similar in design to the TAKS-Alt assessments. Students will continue to perform assessment tasks linked to the grade-level TEKS. However, STAAR Alternate will incorporate a vertical alignment in the program's assessment tasks that will allow scores to be compared across different grades for the same subject and language version. The high school assessments will change from grade-level assessments to course-based assessments. STAAR Alternate assessments will reflect the same increased rigor and focus of the general and modified assessments. STAAR Alternate high school assessments will be developed for Algebra I, geometry, biology, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and U.S. history.

STAAR Alternate assessments will be implemented in the 2011-2012 school year. STAAR Alternate will replace TAKS-Alt assessments at all grades and subjects.

Two of the three bundled accommodations will be available for students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities on the STAAR reading assessments in grades 3 through high school-the oral reading of item stems/answer options only and extended testing time, if needed. These accommodations do not need to be offered as a bundle; the needs of the student should be considered when determining which accommodations to use. A proper-nouns list like the one used in the TAKS assessments will no longer be provided.

As with TAKS, Spanish versions of STAAR will be available for eligible ELLs in grades 3-5 in each grade and subject assessed by the English versions. Additionally, linguistically accommodated versions of STAAR called STAAR L will be available for eligible ELLs in grades 3-8 and high school. ELLs not eligible to take the Spanish or STAAR L versions will take the general STAAR tests in English but may be eligible to receive certain limited linguistic accommodations. Both Spanish STAAR and STAAR L are designed to be comparable to STAAR in content, rigor, and academic achievement standards. Following implementation of the STAAR program, the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) will be reviewed and adjusted as needed to maintain an appropriate relationship between academic language proficiency as defined by TELPAS and academic achievement as defined by STAAR.

Yes. Revisions to ELL test participation criteria will be made through the commissioner of education rulemaking process and posted on the Texas Education Agency website in fall 2011.

STAAR L will be composed of STAAR test forms in English that have built-in computer-based linguistic accommodations designed for ELLs who are eligible for a significant degree of linguistic accommodation. Two types of accommodations will be built into the STAAR L interface―clarification of unfamiliar English and reading aloud of text. As the students take the tests, they will be able to click on text to obtain English clarification of words and language structures that are likely to be unfamiliar to them. The read-aloud interface functionality will enable students to hear text read aloud. The linguistic accommodation interface will be implemented beginning in spring 2013. Until then, STAAR L tests will be administered in paper mode only, and the clarification and read-aloud accommodations will be provided by the test administrator.

Beginning in 2013, these accommodations will be delivered online, and STAAR L will be administered as an online testing program.

L versions of the STAAR grades 3-8 and EOC assessments in mathematics, science, and social studies will be developed. STAAR L reading, writing, and English I-III assessments will not be developed. Like all Texas students, ELLs in grade 6 and above will be given access to dictionaries when taking STAAR reading, writing, and English I-III tests. ELLs in grades 3-5 may be eligible to use dictionaries as a linguistic accommodation when taking reading and writing tests. STAAR L versions will be administered on the same schedule as STAAR assessments.

No. The small number of ELLs with disabilities who meet STAAR Modified participation criteria will take the STAAR Modified test forms in English but may qualify for allowable linguistic accommodations.

More information will be available in fall 2011 on the TEA Student Assessment website.

For the STAAR program, make-up testing opportunities for students who are absent will be available for all grades, subjects, and courses. Make-up testing opportunities will also be available for all administrations, including the summer administrations.

The STAAR grades 3-8 administrations will be available only in paper format. Paper and online administrations will be available for STAAR EOC assessments.

STAAR L and STAAR Modified will be administered on paper only in 2012. STAAR L will become an online testing program in 2013. Online administration plans for STAAR Modified for 2013 and beyond have not yet been finalized.

All tests in the STAAR program will have a four-hour time limit. The test will start when students are directed to turn to the first question. TEA will review the four-hour time limit after the first STAAR administration in spring 2012 to determine if the policy needs to be reconsidered or adjusted for specific grades, subjects, or courses.

Accommodations for extra time or an extra day will be available for students who meet eligibility criteria for their use.

Districts may administer multiple test sessions in the same day. If necessary, they may decide on early start times or extending testing beyond the typical school day, particularly at the high school level.

All students must be given the maximum of four hours to complete the tests. Districts will need to determine if the student can test on that day or on a make-up day.

Breaks are allowed during STAAR assessments; however the following breaks must be included in the four-hour time limit.

• Breaks for water or snacks
• Bathroom breaks
• Breaks for physical activity (e.g., standing up and stretching)
• Routine medical breaks (e.g., to take medicine)

Breaks for lunch are not included in the four-hour time limit; however it is recommended that lunch be scheduled outside of the testing time.

In fall 2011, selected test questions from all grades, subjects, and courses will be released. The first full release of spring test forms of STAAR will occur in summer 2014.

The implementation of STAAR will bring some key changes to the way information is reported.

For TAKS all reports were provided in hard-copy format with the option to receive online reports for a fee. With the new STAAR program, all reports will be provided online. One copy of each of the Confidential Student Reports (CSRs) and labels will be provided in hard-copy format.

Because standards for STAAR EOC will not be set until February 2012, current EOC reports provide raw scores only. With the implementation of STAAR EOC assessments, results for students for the spring administrations will be delivered online shortly after the May test administration is complete, followed by the delivery of results on paper. For specific reporting dates, please refer to the 2011−2012 testing calendar, which is posted on the Student Assessment website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/calendars/.

Alternate methods of reporting assessment results will be used with STAAR, which will provide opportunities to examine data in a variety of ways. Online tools for students, teachers, and campus and district personnel will provide the ability to track progress toward graduation, compare results across years and groups, and look at growth patterns for various groups of students.

As with TAKS, there will be no charge for students, parents, or school districts to use the data portals of the Assessment Management System.

The student portal will continue to be used with STAAR, and beginning in 2012, students will be able to see their past TAKS and TELPAS results along with their STAAR results. Students first entering grade 9 and below in 2011-2012 will graduate under the STAAR graduation requirements. Students will be able to track their progress toward graduation within the student portal. Student results will continue to be available in the student portal at the same time that school districts receive their results online.

The teacher portal will continue to provide results at the class level for teachers. Districts will be able to upload information to create class groups and the assessment results for those students. This can be done at any time of the year so that teachers can see the past results of their current students. In addition, classroom linking information will be received from districts in the summer of each year. This information, the list of teachers, the classes they taught, and the students that were in those classes, will be provided to the assessment contractor, allowing class groups to be created to show the previous year assessment results.

Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, districts will also have access to an analytic reporting tool in the Assessment Management System. Analytic reporting will allow users to analyze results in order to compare current and historical data. They can perform comparisons of campuses to campuses, campuses to districts, districts to districts, and districts to the state.

Campus and district personnel will also be able to organize the data to examine different demographic and program information groups, enabling easy access to cross-section analysis of the assessment data.

For more information about the STAAR program, visit the TEA Student Assessment website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar.