This spring students in grades 3-9 participated in a new state assessment system: The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness or STAAR. Waco ISD is committed to sharing information and resources regarding these new assessments with students, parents, and community as it becomes available.
In a new assessment system there are many steps in creating performance standards and setting scale scores in order to accurately represent student success across the life of the assessment system. The performance standards have been set and scale scores are available for the end-of-course assessments. The district will be able to communicate this information with parents in June.
Scale scores for grades 3-8 will not be available until January of 2013. Due to these timelines, the district will not have available scale scores or passing information to share with parents of students in grades 3-8 until the spring of next year.
When information is available, student success will be communicated through the following performance categories:
• Level III - Advanced Academic Performance
(Performance in this category indicates that students are well prepared for the next grade or course.)
• Level II - Satisfactory Academic Performance
(Performance in this category indicates that students are sufficiently prepared for the next grade or course.)
• Level I - Unsatisfactory Academic Performance
(Performance in this category indicates that students are inadequately prepared for the next grade or course.)
The passing standards for each of these levels for EOC were recently released by TEA.
There will be a three step phase-in of the passing standards over the next several years to assist with the transition to the new assessment system. Each assessment for end-of-course has a different scale score for each of the levels above. This information is available on a chart located at
http://www5.esc13.net/staar/resources.html (“Phase‐in and Final Recommended Performance Standards STAAR EOC”). If you have questions regarding your student’s performance please visit with your child’s principal.
Students who do not meet the passing standard for STAAR EOC will have additional opportunities to re-take the assessments. The first opportunity to re-take an assessment for STAAR EOC will be
July 9th-July 13th of 2012. Waco ISD will be offering support opportunities to assist students in passing these assessments.
There are two new requirements for high school students passed by the 81st Texas Legislature:
• The score a student receives on each of the EOC assessments must be counted as 15% of the student’s final grade for the course.
• The scores a student receives on each EOC for a content area must be equal to a determined cumulative score in order for the student to graduate from high school.
The Commissioner of Education allowed districts the option to waive the 15% rule for this school year as it was the first implementation of EOC assessments. Beginning next year this requirement will be in effect for all students taking high school EOC assessments. Waco ISD elected to waive the 15% requirement for the 2011-‐2012 school year.
In order to determine a student’s cumulative score each assessment in a content area will be totaled and compared to a baseline cumulative score. For example:
Students who began taking mathematics EOC assessments in the 2011-2012 school year must meet a scale score of at least 3500 to reach a Level II Performance Category (pass the assessment).
Algebra I 3500
Geometry 3500
Algebra II 3500
Total = 10500
The cumulative score on the mathematics assessments for a student who began taking EOCs this year will need to be greater than or equal to 10500 in order for the student to meet graduation requirements.
There are different requirements for students who may be graduating under the minimum high school program or the distinguished high school program.
Resources to assist your understanding of STAAR are available from ESC Region XIII as well as the Texas Education Agency.
ESC Region XIII STAAR Parent Brochure
STAAR FAQ
STAAR Performance Standards video
Information on performance standards and phase in scores for EOC
There are also requirements for students in grades 5 and 8 to pass the state assessments in reading and mathematics in order to be promoted to the next grade level. Due to the late notification of student success on the STAAR 3-8 assessments this requirement will not be in effect for the 2011-2012 school year.
Do all students take STAAR?
The short answer is yes, the vast majority of students will be taking STAAR. Under STAAR, students in grades 3-8 will take exams in reading, math, science, and social studies just as they do in the current TAKS. Spanish versions of the STAAR exams in grades 3 through 5 will be available for English Language Learners. Students receiving Special Education services will have the decision as to which exam they will be taking determined by the Admissions, Review and Dismissal Committee (ARD), in which parents are invited to participate. High school students beginning with the freshman class of 2011-2012 will see the most changes.
As a result of changes enacted by the 81st Legislature, high school students will take more exams. These exams, called end-of-course exams, will be taken by students enrolled in the following courses:
• English I, II, III
• Algebra I, II
• Geometry
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• U.S. History
• World History
• World Geography
• U.S. History