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  2. STAAR

STAAR

State Assessments

Texas’ student assessment program is designed to measure the extent to which a student has learned and is able to apply the knowledge and skills at each tested grade or course identified in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). The state assessment program is fully aligned to the TEKS, the statewide curriculum required to be taught.
 

STAAR 

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) program, which was implemented in spring 2012, includes annual assessments for

  • reading and mathematics, grades 3–8
  • writing at grades 4 and 7
  • science at grades 5 and 8
  • social studies at grade 8
  • end-of-course (EOC) assessments for English I, English II, Algebra I, biology and U.S history.

Beginning in spring 2016, STAAR English III and Algebra II will be available for districts to administer as optional assessments.

The resources on this website provide information to familiarize Texas educators and the public with the design and format of the STAAR program. The information should help educators understand how the STAAR program measures the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. These resources should support, not narrow or replace, the teaching of the state-mandated curriculum, the TEKS.

 

STAAR Alternate 2 

 Texas definition of a student with a significant cognitive disability is a student who:

  • exhibits significant intellectual and adaptive behavior deficits in their ability to plan, comprehend, and reason, and ALSO indicates adaptive behavior deficits that limit their ability to apply social and practical skills such as personal care, social problem-solving skills, dressing, eating, using money, and other functional skills across life domains;
  • is NOT identified based on English learner designation or solely on the basis of previous low academic achievement or the need for accommodations; and
  • requires extensive, direct, individualized instruction, as well as a need for substantial supports that are neither temporary nor specific to a particular content area. 

TEA has developed the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment to meet the federal requirements mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a federal education law previously known as No Child Left Behind. TEA designed the STAAR Alternate 2 to assess students in grades 3–8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.

 

TELPAS 

TEA designed the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) and TELPAS Alternate to assess the progress that limited English proficient (LEP) students, also referred to as English learners (ELs), make in learning the English language. To view all English learner (EL) resources, visit the EL webpage. 

 

TELPAS Alternate 

TEA developed the TELPAS Alternate assessment to meet the federal requirements mandated under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which requires states to administer an alternate English language proficiency (ELP) assessment for English learners (ELs) with the most significant cognitive disabilities who cannot participate in the general ELP assessment, even with allowable accommodations.

 

 

State Testing Resources