Texas Teachers Shape the STAAR
Educators play a critical role in developing summative assessments.
State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) tests are developed with input from committees of teachers, content experts, college representatives, and school administrators. These groups ensure that questions are fair, appropriate, and accurately reflect what all students should have learned during the school year.
In addition to outlining test content based on Texas curriculum for each subject and grade, these committees also help to determine test duration and number of questions. After questions have been approved by the educator committees, they are field tested with thousands of students. A field test simulates a testing environment and helps determine which questions are valid for the summative assessments.
Interested in serving on one of these committees? Complete the online application.
How Is Texas Trending?
The next Nation’s Report Card will reveal how the state stacks up in math and reading.
This spring, a sample of fourth and eighth graders across the state will participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card. NAEP tests a variety of subjects and provides state-level data for math and reading.
While STAAR measures specific Texas standards, NAEP provides a common yardstick to measure student progress and achievement trends over time. Results from the 2022 assessment also will help to understand the full impact of COVID-19 on students and provide valuable data on learning loss.
To see how Texas compared nationally in the last assessment, check out the 2019 NAEP Texas math results.
Improving Instruction for English Learners
Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) begins February 21.
TELPAS measures annual progress toward academic proficiency for English learners (ELs) in grades K–12. The state follows federally required standards to support students in learning the English needed to engage in meaningful subject-area instruction.
Texas also was the first state in the country to develop an alternate test, TELPAS Alternate, for ELs in grades 2-12 with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
The administration window opens for both tests on February 21, 2022.
Student performance data in listening, speaking, reading, and writing helps teachers guide instruction for ELs as they strengthen their English while learning grade-level content.
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