2023 EDUCATION EDITION
CHANGING THE EXAM The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness were conducted completely online in April after House Bill 3906—passed in 2019— implemented a redesign of the standardized test.
Since the passage of House Bill 3906 in 2019, the Texas Education Agency has worked to make revisions to the annual STAAR with most changes to be implemented for the rst time during the spring testing window. TESTING TIMELINE 2019
FALL 2022 New STAAR question types are provided to school districts. DECEMBER 2022 The STAAR is conducted fully online for the rst time. APRIL 18 MAY 9, 2023 The STAAR is administered in New Braunfels and Comal ISDs. AUGUST 16, 2023 Final testing results are anticipated for the 2023 STAAR. Results can be found at www.tea.texas.gov/ student-assessment/testing/staar /2023-log-in-and-learn-more-toolkit.
15 types of test questions
House Bill 3906 passes, allowing the Texas Education Agency to make revisions to the annual STAAR that were implemented in the 2022-23 school year. 2020 21 The Texas Education Agency begins Operation Connectivity, which is designed to connect all of Texas’ public school students with a device and a reliable internet connection.
Along with multiple-choice questions, 14 other question types—such as graphs, maps and ll-in-the-blank prompts—could be on the new STAAR.
Evidence-based writing
The essay portion of the reading and writing STAAR is now based on a reading passage instead of an independent writing prompt.
More crossover between subjects
EARLY 2022 The TEA gives initial information on STAAR test changes to school districts.
Reading passage test questions reference topics students have learned about in other subjects.
Being able to broaden the way that we’re assessing so that it’s something that allows students to demonstrate their learning in more ways is an exciting development for the test. LILY LAUX, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF SCHOOL PROGRAMS AT THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Online testing
The STAAR tests began being administered online last school year. This provides more accommodations for students and expedites results, according to the Texas Education Agency.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: COMAL ISD, NEW BRAUNFELS ISD, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
students have adapted well to online learning and the new STAAR. “The TEC21 initiative provides our students with constant access to their own personal devices, which empow- ers them to use technology, regardless of income,” Jones said. “The rede- signed STAAR test that was adminis- tered online was a seamless transition for our students because we use sim- ilar online methods of teaching every day in our classrooms.”
short constructed responses are worth two points, and extended con- structed responses are worth up to 10, Mo att said. Laux said the grading process has become more streamlined and is meant to get scores back much faster than the previous test. The state Legislature has removed the requirement that students must perform well on the STAAR to advance to the next grade.
“This is a big deal,” Laux said. “It’s important that we think about it as a tool that gets both families and edu- cators good information. One test should never be all that anyone knows about a child or uses to make deci- sions about that child.”
Weighing the scores Fifteen question types are in the new exam, including open-ended questions, writing at every grade level, graphs and ll-in-the-blank prompts. The grading process has also changed so students can receive par- tial credit for their answers. Much like the previous exam, mul- tiple-choice question responses are worth one point. In the new exam,
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
160 HWY 46 S
1509 N Walnut Ave.
COOL TUNES COLD DRINKS GOOD PEOPLE
buy one get one Any Size free
expires 09.06.23 must present coupon to redeem
1190 GRUENE RD | VILLAATGRUENE.COM
27
NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION • AUGUST 2023
Powered by FlippingBook