STAAR Alternate 2 - Tx.mypearsonsupport
STAAR Alternate 2Educator Guide2020–2021
Copyright 2021, Texas Education Agency. All rights reserved.
Table of ContentsResources.1Purpose of This Educator Guide .2Introduction to STAAR Alternate 2 .3Test Development Process .3ARD Committee Responsibilities.4Medical Exceptions and No Authentic Academic Response (NAAR) .5Alignment with State Curriculum .6TEKS Vertical Alignment for STAAR Alternate 2 .7Essence Statement .7TEKS Curriculum Framework for STAAR Alternate 2 .8Test Design .8Test Materials .9Presentation Instructions .10Accommodations .14Student Response Modes .15Scoring.16Test Results .182020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDEiii
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDEResourcesNOTESGeneral Information ResourcesFor general information related toAccessthe student assessment programwww.tea.texas.gov/student.assessment/STAAR Alternate 2 ial-ed/staaralt/online testing technology rs/technology/Online Resource MaterialsResource materials available onlineLocated atDistrict and Campus Coordinator Resourceswww.txetests.com/dccr/STAAR Alternate 2 Test Administrator -ed/staaralt/Interpreting Assessment Reportswww.tea.texas.gov/Student Testing ty/Performance Reporting/Interpreting Assessment Reports/STAAR Alternate 2 Medical Exception ssessment/special-ed/staaralt/STAAR Alternate 2 No Authentic Academic Response(NAAR) Eligibility pecial-ed/staaralt/STAAR Alternate 2 Participation pecial-ed/staaralt/STAAR Alternate 2 Released Testswww.tea.texas.gov/Student Testing andAccountability/Testing/STAAR Alternate/STAAR Alternate 2 Released Test Questions/STAAR Alternate 2 Vertical Alignment, CurriculumFramework, and Essence Statement ial-ed/staaralt/STAAR Alternate 2, TELPAS, and TELPAS Alternate AssessmentManagement System User’s rces/STAAR Alternate 2 Scoring 2020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE1
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDENOTESPurpose of This Educator GuideThis guide is provided to familiarize educators with the State of Texas Assessments ofAcademic Readiness (STAAR ) Alternate 2 assessment.STAAR Alternate 2 is an assessment based on alternate academic standards and isdesigned for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities receiving specialeducation services. Students must meet participation requirements to take this test.STAAR Alternate 2 was developed to meet federal requirements of both theElementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Act (IDEA). ESEA requires that all students be assessed in specific gradesand subjects throughout their academic career, whereas IDEA requires that studentswith disabilities have access to the same curriculum standards as their non-disabledpeers and be included in statewide assessments. STAAR Alternate 2, which wasredesigned as a result of state legislation passed in 2013, is a standardized assessmentadministered individually to each eligible student.STAAR Alternate 2 is available for the same grades and subjects assessed in thegeneral STAAR program.3–8/EOCSubjects AssessedGrade 3mathematics and readingGrade 4mathematics, reading, and writingGrade 5mathematics, reading, and scienceGrade 6mathematics and readingGrade 7mathematics, reading, and writingGrade 8mathematics, reading, science, and social studiesend-of-course (EOC)Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. HistoryThis guide includes test development information, eligibility and participationguidelines, accommodations information, and sample test questions.22020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDEIntroduction to STAAR Alternate 2NOTESAs a result of House Bill 5 of the 83rd Texas Legislative Session, the Texas EducationAgency (TEA) redesigned the STAAR Alternate assessment to meet the diverse needsof students with significant cognitive disabilities enrolled in grades 3 through 8 andend-of-course (EOC) subjects. The legislation, as quoted below, indicates that theassessment must not require teachers to prepare tasks or materials.“The agency, in conjunction with appropriate interested persons, shall redevelopassessment instruments adopted or developed under Subsection (b) foradministration to significantly cognitively disabled students in a manner consistentwith federal law. An assessment instrument under this subsection may not require ateacher to prepare tasks or materials for a student who will be administered such anassessment instrument.”To meet requirements of the legislation and maintain an appropriate assessment forstudents with significant cognitive disabilities, a question-based approach to theassessment was implemented for the redesign of STAAR Alternate. The assessmentconsists of 20 scripted questions per test. Additional field test questions are includedas needed. The test materials include one teacher test booklet per student with thescripted questions and guidelines for how to administer the test and score eachquestion. There is also one student test booklet, one scoring document, and a set ofimage cards per student. The student test booklet contains stimulus images and textneeded for the student to select answers. The design allows for standardization ofthe assessment and eliminates the need for teachers to prepare tasks or materials.Test Development ProcessThe STAAR Alternate 2 development process mirrors the procedures used for all stateassessments in Texas. The issues of validity, reliability, fairness, accessibility, andconsistency in meaning were carefully considered as part of the development for theassessment. When developing STAAR Alternate 2, attention was also given to theprinciples of alignment and universal design. These principles were considered fromthe beginning to bridge the gap between the grade-level content and the learningstyles of students with significant cognitive disabilities. In incorporating universaldesign for STAAR Alternate 2, consideration was given to students’ response modes,so that students can show what they know and are able to do as in everydayinstruction. Accommodations were also considered to allow students access to thecontent.After prototype questions were developed, a cognitive lab was conducted to gatherinformation on student performance, engagement, and interaction with theredesigned STAAR Alternate 2 questions. Test administrators were interviewedregarding the proposed test design and the feasibility of the assessment for students.The next step in the development process was a pilot test to gather further studentperformance data and survey test administrators regarding the STAAR Alternate 22020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE3
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDENOTEStest questions. Then data from the cognitive lab and pilot test were used to developquestions for the operational assessment.After the questions were developed, they were reviewed by committees of Texaseducators from across the state. Educators included special education specialists andspecial education classroom teachers who were knowledgeable about or who hadexperience teaching students with significant cognitive disabilities. General educationteachers who were knowledgeable about the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills(TEKS) curriculum were also included in the review. Committees reviewed STAARAlternate 2 assessment questions to judge their alignment to the TEKS curriculum,the appropriateness of the questions for students with significant cognitivedisabilities, and whether question content might contain bias that could unfairlyinhibit the performance of particular subgroups of students. Feedback from thecommittees was used to adjust the content and wording of questions to eliminatepotential bias and misalignment to the curriculum or student population.ARD Committee ResponsibilitiesA student’s admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee must ensure that astudent meets all mandated participation requirements, as explained in the STAARAlternate 2 Participation Requirements. The ARD committee meeting should takeplace as early in the current school year as possible or at the end of the year to beapplied the next school year. It is best practice to hold the ARD meeting to determineassessment decisions prior to the start of the STAAR Alternate 2 testing window. If astudent has a significant cognitive disability that requires the student to access thegrade-level TEKS through prerequisite skills, then the ARD committee should reviewthe participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2. If the ARD committeedetermines that a student meets all five criteria of the participation requirements,the student should be assessed with STAAR Alternate 2. A student in grades 3–8 whomeets the participation requirements should be administered STAAR Alternate 2 inall subjects assessed at his or her grade level. A student in high school who meets theparticipation requirements should be administered STAAR Alternate 2 in all assessedcourses in which he or she is enrolled. The STAAR Alternate 2 participationrequirements are also available in Spanish.The ARD committee determines whether a student with a significant cognitivedisability is eligible to take STAAR Alternate 2 based on the following criteria. To beeligible to participate in STAAR Alternate 2, the answer to all five questions must be“yes.” Evidence for each “yes” answer must be documented. Evidence for a cognitivedisability must be based on assessment data provided by an assessment specialist.1. Does the student have a significant cognitive disability?2. Does the student require specialized, extensive supports to access the gradelevel curriculum and environment?3. Does the student require intensive, individualized instruction in allinstructional settings?42020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDE4. Does the student access and participate in the grade-level TEKS throughprerequisite skills?NOTES5. Is the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment determination based on the student’ssignificant cognitive disability and NOT on any other factors?After the five questions have been answered “yes,” the ARD committee must discussand initial the following assurances: A statement must be provided in the student’s individualized educationprogram (IEP) indicating why the student cannot participate in the generalSTAAR assessment with or without allowable accommodations and why STAARAlternate 2 is appropriate for the student, including that all five eligibilitycriteria are met.The decision to administer STAAR Alternate 2 is made by the ARD committeebased solely on the student’s educational need. It is not administratively basedon federal accountability requirements, which limit the number of studentsassessed with an alternate assessment to no more than 1.0 percent of thetotal number of students in the state who are assessed in a subject.The ARD committee understands that instructional and assessment decisionsmade may impact a student’s course plan in high school.Justification is based on the information in the participation requirementsform, and the student’s individual allowable accommodations must bedocumented in the student’s IEP.In addition to providing evidence that all participation requirements have been metand the assurances have been addressed, the ARD committee will determine anddocument the needed accommodations for both instruction and assessment. Thetest administrator will determine the accommodations that will be used for a specificassessment based on the documented accommodations in the student’s IEP and theTEA guidelines for allowable accommodations for STAAR Alternate 2.Medical Exceptions and No Authentic AcademicResponse (NAAR)If a student has a severe medical condition or a cognitive impairment that preventshim or her from completing the assessment, the student will not be required tocomplete the assessment, and an alternate score code may be used. ARD committeesshould use either the information from the STAAR Alternate 2 and TELPAS AlternateMedical Exception Eligibility Requirements or the STAAR Alternate 2 and TELPASAlternate No Authentic Academic Response (NAAR) Eligibility Requirements todetermine if a student’s assessment can be coded as a Medical Exception or as NAAR.For both exceptions, the ARD committee will make the determination after reviewingeducational records. For a medical exception, the ARD committee also reviewsmedical records. The decision must be documented in the student’s IEP along withevidence to support the determination.2020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE5
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDENOTESStudents who are medically fragile and cannot attend to or tolerate any academicinteraction can qualify for a medical exception for the following circumstances: The student is in the final stages of a terminal or degenerative illness.The student is receiving extensive short-term treatment due to a medicalemergency or serious injury.The student is unable to interact with peers or staff without risk of infection orcontamination to him/herself or others.The student is unable to receive sufficient or consistent homebound servicesdue to medical issues.Students who are not able to respond authentically to any verbal, visual, or tactilestimuli during academic instruction due to level of cognition rather than a medicalcondition can qualify for a NAAR exception for the following circumstances: The student is unable to demonstrate a meaningful, observable reaction to aspecific stimulus. The student exhibits only startle responses. The student tracks or fixates on objects at random and not for a purpose. The student moves or responds only to internal stimuli. The student vocalizes intermittently regardless of changes in environmentaround him/her.Alignment with State CurriculumAlignment with the state curriculum through federal and state laws is a criticalrequirement for STAAR Alternate 2. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) mandatesthat alternate assessments must be aligned with the state’s challenging academiccontent standards and academic achievement standards. The Texas Education Code(TEC), Chapter 39.023, lists the subjects, grades, and courses to be tested in thestatewide student assessment program. Considering the elements of federal andstate law, TEA developed vertical alignment and curriculum framework documents tohelp students with significant cognitive disabilities access the grade-level TEKScurriculum. The two alignment resource documents help ensure that all studentseligible to take an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standardsare instructed and assessed on curriculum that is linked to grade-level content.Through the processes illustrated below, TEA aligned the STAAR Alternate 2assessment to the grade-level TEKS curriculum.62020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDEAccess to the Grade-Level TEKS Content Standards for Students withSignificant Cognitive DisabilitiesNOTESTEKSThis identifies what Texas students should know and be able to do atevery grade and every course in the required mathematics, reading/language arts, science, and social studies curriculum. TEKS Vertical Alignment for STAAR Alternate 2This is the complete listing of the TEKS content standards frompre-kindergarten through high school for the required mathematics,reading/language arts, science, and social studies curriculum. Essence StatementThis is the summary of STAAR reporting categories, knowledge andskills statements, and student expectations tested on the STAAR test. TEKS Curriculum Framework for STAAR Alternate 2This links the prerequisite skills to the specific knowledge and skillsstatements and student expectations for the mathematics, reading/language arts, science, and social studies curriculum.TEKS Vertical Alignment for STAAR Alternate 2To link STAAR Alternate 2 with the grade-level content standards assessed on STAAR,a curriculum review was conducted on the mathematics, reading/language arts,science, and social studies TEKS curriculum in all tested grades and high schoolcourses. A task force of content experts, curriculum specialists, and assessmentspecialists conducted an in-depth review of the TEKS standards and identified theSTAAR reporting categories and knowledge and skills statements to be included foreach grade, subject, and course. Following this review, a vertical alignment thatprovided a complete listing of the TEKS academic content standards from prekindergarten through high school was developed. The TEKS vertical alignmentdocuments provide a complete listing of all knowledge and skills statements andstudent expectations throughout the grades. The student expectations provideaccess points to the general education curriculum by serving as prerequisite skills forSTAAR Alternate 2. The prerequisite skills do not represent a scope and sequence,but rather a vertically aligned curriculum.Essence StatementBefore the curriculum framework documents were developed, each knowledge andskills statement and its corresponding student expectations for all reportingcategories assessed with STAAR were summarized into an essence statement. These2020–2021 STAAR ALTERNATE 2 EDUCATOR GUIDE7
STAAR ALTERNATE 2EDUCATOR GUIDENOTESessence statements serve as the connection between the grade-level TEKS and STAARAlternate 2.TEKS Curriculum Framework for STAARAlternate 2To further provide access to the academic content standards for students withsignificant cognitive disabilities, the TEKS Curriculum Framework for STAAR Alternate2 documents were developed using the TEKS Vertical Alignment documents. Thecurriculum framework documents list a number of instructional terms to assistteachers with the academic language being used in the scripted questions, reportingcategories, knowledge and skills statements, and student expectations in each gradeand subject. The curriculum framework documents also provide prerequisite skills(TEKS student expectations from earlier grades) that are linked to the grade-levelTEKS content standards through the essen
STAAR assessment with or without allowable accommodations and why STAAR Alternate 2 is appropriate for the student, including that all five eligibility criteria are met. The decision to administer STAAR Alternate 2 is made by the ARD committee based solely on the student’s educational need. It is not administratively based
THE STAAR MASTER DIFFERENCE RIGOROUS DESIGN STAAR MASTER is the most rigorous STAAR curriculum on the market today . STAAR MASTER content carefully exceeds the level of difficulty of the STAAR to ensure success . STANDARDS ALIGNED STAAR MASTER materials are 100% alig
CHANGES TO STAAR IN 2017 Only one form of test—paper or online (no more STAAR A or STAAR L) . may need significant support next year. Phase-in Level II: Satisfactory Approaches Grade Level . Grade 5 Grade 8 Biology Hays CISD STAAR Science Scores 2015 2016 2017. STAAR SOCIAL STUDIES 57%
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*scoring document may be found in back of TAM or online through “Resources” tab in Assessment . ENGLISH I, ENGLISH II, BIOLOGY, AND US HISTORY. ABOVE-GRADE TESTING TEA Update 2017 STAAR ALT 2 29 Above-grade testing is not allowed on STAAR Alternate 2 (for example, students . Alternate 2. TEA Update 2017 S
thSTAAR EOC for Graduation 8 th 9th 10th 11 12th Total Alg I 3 3 3 3 3 15 Alg I 3 3 3 3 12 Eng I 3 3 3 3 12 . English II 79 73. READING COMPARISONS GRADE LEVEL . MATH COMPARISONS GRADE LEVEL . STAAR EOC, STAAR M, STAAR Alternate, STAAR L Graduati
The STAAR Alternate 2 Instructional Terms lists academic vocabulary that has been used globally in the alternate assessment. Lists are organized by subject and guide . Released Tests include a Teacher Test Booklet and Student Booklet for each grade and subject tested. Correct answers are indicated by a red asterisk in the Teacher Test Booklet .
TEKSING TOWARD STAAR GRADE 8 MINI-ASSESSMENTS Table of Contents TEKSING TOWARD STAAR 2014 Page 6 Expressions, Equations, and Relationships 8.(9) Expressions, Equations, and Relationships The student applies mathematical process standards to use multiple representations to develop foundational concepts of simultaneous linear equations. STAAR .
Introduction to Digital Logic with Laboratory Exercises 6 A Global Text. This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License Preface This lab manual provides an introduction to digital logic, starting with simple gates and building up to state machines. Students should have a solid understanding of algebra as well as a rudimentary understanding of basic electricity including .
