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 TEA 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 by TEA 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 Hays and San Marcos CISDs. AUG. 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.
House Bill 3906 passes, allowing the TEA to make revisions to the annual STAAR that were implemented in the 2022-23 school year.
15 types of test questions
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.
2020 21 The TEA begins Operation
Evidence-based writing
Connectivity, which is designed to connect all of Texas’ public school students with a device and a reliable internet connection.
The essay portion of the reading and writing STAAR is now based on a reading passage instead of an independent writing prompt.
EARLY 2022 The TEA gives initial information on STAAR test changes to school districts.
More crossover between subjects
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 TEA
Complete online testing
The STAAR tests began being fully administered online last school year. This provides more accommodations for students and expedites results, according to the TEA.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCES: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY, COMAL ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
our kids to get to the test and see a format that [wasn’t familiar].” According to Laux, there were sev- eral new components to the test to ensure students had more than just multiple-choice questions. New test components included open-ended questions; evidence-based writing; and cross-curricular passages, ques- tions that reference other topics stu- dents have learned in other classes. “We made optional practice tools available to all the districts, so
they could provide technical support to districts that might struggle with online infrastructure. “We felt pretty good going in, and we had over 8.1 million online assess- ments administered in the spring, including over 1.1 million students testing at the same time with no chal- lenges,” Laux said.
they had access to both formative and interim assessments that were entirely optional [that] they could use at the local level to have students practice interacting with the platform in a way that made sense instruction- ally prior to the end of year assess- ment,” Laux said. Students who have a documented learning accommodation for testing on paper were still able to do so. The STAAR redesign also provided access for testers who need text-to-speech,
braille and American Sign Language video instructions. Tackling technology Another stark di erence with the redesign was the test being fully administered online. Laux said the Texas Legislature took steps to ensure the TEA and local school districts were fully set up for the transition, including requiring the agency to administer a feasibility study and pro- vide grants in the interim to ensure
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
∙ Get updated vaccines ∙ See a full picture of your child’s health ∙ Ask learning and behavioral questions ∙ Schedule daytime, evenings & weekends CHECK IN FOR A CHECKUP
ARCcheckup.com Book now
25
SAN MARCOS BUDA KYLE EDITION • AUGUST 2023
Powered by FlippingBook