This Week in Performance Reporting

Good afternoon, Performance Reporting bulletin members.

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What’s New in Performance Reporting

A–F Accountability

2023 Accountability Development

Updated A-F Framework & Rationales posted 3/9

The 2023 A–F System Framework has evolved based on stakeholder feedback since its release in June and November 2022 and January 2023. TEA sought feedback from many sources, including regional forums with superintendents, regional education service center (ESC) presentations, and countless emails and one-on-one conversations conducted by multiple agency staff with superintendents, school board members, principals, teachers, parents, business leaders, professional associations, and other advocacy groups.  As is expected given the complexity of the topic and the size of Texas, stakeholders brought a range of perspectives. The feedback TEA solicited did not give us one consistent direction, and at times stakeholders proposed radically different or even directly conflicting directions for our A–F refresh. To help us weigh competing recommendations, the Texas Accountability Advisory Group (TAAG) and ESC Accountability Group (EAG) reviewed feedback and provided additional recommendations. 

This feedback has been immensely helpful and guided each of our updates to the Preliminary 2023 Frameworks. The proposed rule, the 2023 Accountability Manual, will be published in mid-spring.

Every Student Succeeds (ESSA) Amendment  

In the February 23, 2023 Administrator Addressed correspondence, TEA has submitted updates to the amendment of the state’s ESSA plan to adjust the methodology within the Closing the Gaps domain.  

These updates have been made in response to stakeholder feedback and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE). 

• Proposed 0–4 Points Definitions 

The definition of two points for growth has been updated to measure six years of growth to the next interim target by increasing the denominator to six in alignment with the next interim target increment in 2027–2028. This adjustment measures expected growth from the 2022–2023 school year through the 2027–2028 school year. 

ESSA Long-Term and Interim Goals 2017-18 through 2036-37 are available on TEA’s ESSA website. 

• Student Groups Evaluated 

While each student group will be evaluated within Closing the Gaps under ESSA requirements, a subset of the groups will be measured for the Closing the Gaps rating while disaggregated groups will be measured for targeted support and improvement (TSI) and additional targeted support (ATS) determinations. 

STAAR High/Low Cut Points 

The STAAR raw scores and scale scores associated with the calculation of School Progress, Part A: Academic Growth, and corresponding high and low performance level cut points, are now available on the 2023 Accountability Development webpage. 

Reminder: Removal of 2021 Accountability Reports and Student Listings in TEAL 

In order to facilitate the posting of 2023 accountability reports, all 2021 accountability reports and student listings for all campuses and districts will be removed from the TEA Login (TEAL) Accountability application on Friday, April 14, 2023. Once removed, the data contained in each report and student listing will be unavailable. Please ensure that your district downloads and maintains a copy of these reports and data for your records. 

The accountability reports consist of accountability summaries, calculations, and data tables for each domain. Accountability student listings include data that was used to calculate the STAAR performance; College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR); and English Language Proficiency components for 2021 accountability. 

Assessment Scoring and Reporting

Spring 2023 TELPAS Administration

• Calibration Trainings The calibration window for new and returning Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) holistic raters opens February 6, 2023. Practice sets and calibration sets are now available in the Learning Management System (LMS). Currently, there is an issue accessing the calibration trainings with Safari. Raters should use a different browser to access the calibration trainings as we work to resolve this issue.  As a reminder, district testing coordinators received their calibration passcodes on February 1 in their secure inbox in the Test Information Delivery Engine (TIDE). Raters should be provided the appropriate passcodes only during monitored calibration sessions.

• Holistic Rating Upload Process With the new holistic ratings upload process for TELPAS, a Holistic Rating Upload task is now visible in TIDE in the Appeals/Score Codes module within the Test Administration panel. The Holistic Rating Upload task will be accessible in TIDE throughout the TELPAS testing window, February 20–March 31, 2023.  In addition, the new Holistic Ratings Upload template is now available on the Texas Assessment website on the Technology Resources page so that districts can become familiar with the layout and required information. A training video on the holistic ratings upload process has been added to the District and Campus Coordinator Resources on the Enter Student Information into TIDE page in the Complete Administrations section.

• TELPAS Test Completion Rates Report Based on feedback from educators, the test completion rates report for TELPAS has been updated. In addition to viewing completion rates by test and domain, users can now view overall combination completion rates by grade. Users can verify the number and percentage of students who have completed all TELPAS components and monitor completion rates by test to track rates of students who have not yet taken all tests needed for a composite score. The TELPAS test completion rates report includes online listening and speaking tests and reading and writing tests as well as paper reading tests entered through the Data Entry Interface (DEI). TELPAS holistic assessments are not included in the completion rates report but can be verified by selecting Holistic Rating Upload as the request type from the View Requests task in the Appeals/Score Codes module.

Spring 2023 STAAR Administration

For the spring State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) administration, the initial order shipment of test administrator manuals is scheduled to arrive between February 21 and February 24, 2023. District personnel can now log in to TIDE to see how many STAAR Test Administrator Manuals they will receive. In TIDE, select "STAAR TAMs, Paper Materials Management" from the Administration Task dropdown menu to view this information.

For questions or assistance regarding the information in this communication, contact Texas Testing Support at 833-601-821, TexasTestingSupport@cambiumassessment.com, or TexasAssessment.gov via live chat.

Performance Reporting Calendar

Late March: TAAG and EAG Meetings 

Late March: Alternative Education Accountability (AEA) Campus Registration Window  

Late March: CCMR Tracker (Part 1) Release (2022-2023 grade 9-12 students) 

March 31: Final 2023 Accelerated Testers Student Listing (TEAL) Release 

Late April: 2023 Pairing Registration Window Opens 

April-May: What If Report (TEAL and Public Web) Release    April-May: Preliminary 2023 Accountability Manual Release 

April-May: Preliminary 2023 Accountability Manual Public Comment Period Opens 

Late May: 2023 A-F Estimator (TEAL and Public Web) Release 

July: CCMR Tracker (Part 2) Release (2022-23 grade 9-12 students) 

Summer: 2023 Refresh Parent Resources, Explanatory Materials, Videos Released 

Summer: Results Driven Accountability Integration Taskforce Meeting 

August 2023: Final 2023 Accountability Manual (All Chapters and Appendices) Release 

Late September 2023: Accountability Ratings Published (TEA and TXschools.gov) 

Late September 2023: Accountability Registration Window Opens