HISD Begins Preparations for STAAR Replacing TAKS
New state laws focus on end-of-course exams for Freshman starting the 2011-2012 school year. Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors will finish their high school careers under the TAKS tests.
As required by two new state laws, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) will replace the eight-year-old Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) as the state’s official student-assessment system in the 2011–2012 school year.
To promote a smooth and successful transition at that time, HISD is taking immediate steps to:
- inform students, parents, and teachers about the major change
ahead, and
- prepare students to perform well on the STAAR system’s more-
difficult end-of-course exams at the high-school level.
The end-of-course exams are a key component of the STAAR system, which is designed to help students meet college-readiness standards. These new exams are course-specific, more rigorous than the TAKS, and administered online (not with pencil and paper).
Texas Education Agency (TEA) STAAR Schedule
Students in the graduating Class of 2015, who are currently in the seventh grade, will be the first students who will have to meet the new end-of-course testing requirements.
Starting with the high-school freshmen of 2011–2012, students will have to pass certain end-of-course STAAR tests as well as their classes to graduate from high school. The exams will also, at that time, be included as part of a student’s final grade as dictated by the new law.
The TEA will issue its last TAKS-based school accountability ratings in 2011. Ratings will be suspended in 2012 while TEA develops a new accountability system based on the new state tests, and the agency will start using the new rating system in 2013.
Courses Affected
The STAAR end-of-course assessments will ultimately be used for the 12 high-school courses in the four core subject areas (math, science, language, social studies) that Senate Bill 1031 mandated in 2007. The 12 courses are:
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MATH
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SCIENCE
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LANGUAGE
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SOCIAL STUDIES
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Algebra I
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Biology
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English I
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U.S. History
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Algebra II
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Chemistry
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English II
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World Geography
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Geometry
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Physics
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English III
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World History
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The state has finalized only seven of the new tests at this point: Algebra I, Geometry, Biology, Chemistry, U.S. History, Physics, and World Geography. Those are the ones HISD will begin giving in May in every high school and selected middle schools.
Starting in 2011–2012, the STAAR tests will also be used for the new grades 3–8 assessments mandated by House Bill 1 in the 2009 session of the Texas Legislature. By law, the STAAR reading and math tests for grades 3–8 must be linked from grade to grade to performance expectations for the English III and Algebra II end-of-course exams.
What HISD Is Doing to Prepare
To give students experience with taking the new tests, HISD will begin administering the state-developed end-of-course exams to high-school students in May, 2010—two years before students will be required to pass certain exams for graduation. The results of these early tests won’t count officially toward student graduation or on HISD teachers’ value-added records for ASPIRE Award performance pay at this time, but they will be used for diagnostic purposes to see how our students are performing on these more-rigorous assessments.
HISD’s goals are to:
Make students familiar with and accustomed to the new end-of-course tests, which 1) will be significantly more difficult than the TAKS, 2) will measure specific course content, and 3) must be taken online.
Determine students’ strengths and weaknesses and develop improvement strategies.
Inform students, parents, and teachers about the upcoming tests and their requirements.
Make sure HISD’s curriculum and professional development are aligned with the next generation of state-mandated achievement tests to ensure that teachers have the tools that they need to ensure student success.
Prepare the district’s technology infrastructure for a large-scale online assessment program.
HISD is being proactive to prepare all stakeholders for the new assessment system through the administration of these early tests and other initiatives.
The district is working with the TEA as it develops the guidelines for the new STAAR system, specifically with regard to the online end-of-course assessments.
A committee of principals has been looking at ways to assure a smooth transition and successful implementation of these end-of-course exams prior to their being mandated with a high-stakes outcome in 2011–2012.
In addition, the district is developing a communications plan to give students, teachers, and the public more information about the new STAAR system as soon as TEA releases further details. These plans include a page on the HISDConnect Web site and ongoing communications with all stakeholders.
End-of-Course (EOC) Examinations Spring 2010 Administration
Frequently Asked Questions
Administration Questions:
Which students have to take the EOC exams?
All students who are currently taking the B section of a two-semester course for which an operational EOC is available, should be administered the EOC. The only exceptions would be special education students for whom accommodations are required that are not available on the current assessment. This would include students who would normally take the TAKS-Modified or TAKS-Alternate. Also, students who would normally be
LEP exempt from taking a TAKS will not be required to take the EOC this spring.
Do middle school students taking Algebra I have to take the EOC this spring?
Yes, the district is requiring all students enrolled in courses for which an EOC is operational to take the exam, given the above-listed exceptions.
Are students currently taking courses for credit recovery required to take the exams?
Only students who are currently taking the course for first time credit and are taking it in a face-to-face classroom will be administered the exam this year during this initial phase of testing.
If a student is enrolled in an on-line or virtual setting, will they take the EOCs this spring?
For this initial year, the focus is on face-to-face classroom setting. However, it is up to campus administration if they would like to offer it. Student Assessment will need to be alerted so they can work with Technology to adjust the expected enrollment numbers.
Should students be allowed to use graphing calculators for the Algebra I, Algebra II (field test), and Geometry EOCs?
The use of graphing calculators for the EOC administrations is mandated by the state.
Do AP and IB students have to participate in EOC administrations?
End-of-Course testing is optional for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate students.
Is End-of-Course the same as Laying the Foundation?
No. Laying the Foundation is a program ran by the Curriculum Department (formerly called End-of-Course). Spring 2010 End-of-Course is part of the TEA State Testing Program.
Curriculum and Instruction Questions:
Will the results of these tests count against the students, teachers or campuses?
The test results will not be used to lower a student’s course grade this year, thus keeping him/her from getting course credit, lowering their GPA, or from being able to graduate. It can be used at the discretion of the teacher and campus administration to improve a student’s grade through the use of extra credit. The scores will not be used during this initial year to evaluate teachers or used in any way in value-added score calculations (EVAAS). Data will be provided for diagnostic purposes and will not be used to rate teachers or campuses.
What are the End-of-Course exams measuring?
The EOCs will assess all course content objects. These are available online on the Texas Education Agency’s webpage. Also available on the site are blueprints of the exams, reference materials, and sample test questions, where they have been developed and released by the state. A link to this site is available below and from the HISD Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Department’s website.
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index3.aspx?id=3302&menu_id=793
If a student is taking Principle of Technology in place of Physics required to take the Physics EOC?
Not during this initial implementation year? The Career and Technology Education Department is revising this course curriculum to align with the new Physics requirements. In the future, it is anticipated that these students will have to take the Physics EOC.
If students are taking courses in lieu of state-required courses, do they have to take the EOC exam (e.g., AP Human Geography in lieu of World Geography)?
It would be up to the campus administration’s discretion this initial year if the student is already taking the Advanced Placement (AP) exam for the course. However, it is anticipated that the state will require these students to take the EOC exam beginning in 2012.
I understand that there are new TEKS for Chemistry and Physics requiring certain perquisite content. Therefore, do students need to be concurrently enrolled in Algebra II and Chemistry to take the Chemistry EOC? Do they need to be concurrently enrolled in [?course] and Physics to take the Physics EOC?
These course sequences are not required this year for students to take the EOC administrations this spring.
Will the current Algebra I, Geometry, then Algebra II course sequence be modified?
It is not possible to change the current sequencing of courses. For the future, this is being reviewed.
Technical Support Questions:
What tech support will schools receive for EOC testing?
Technology and Information Systems has already begun implementing its support plan for EOC testing. An outline of the support plan is found below.
EOC Technology Preparation
1. Site surveys to determine schools readiness (completed 2/19)
a. Identify potential testing rooms
b. Identify potential testing workstations (including CTE workstations)
c. Identify potential network/connectivity issues
2. Site Preparation (March 29th – April 23 excluding TAKS testing days)
a. Install Testing Software and related components
b. Repair broken workstations in identified rooms
c. Upgrade workstations that do not meet system min. requirements in
identified rooms
d. Repair broken drops in identified rooms
e. Add additional drops in identified rooms
f. Prepare campus testing servers
3. Training
a. Campus test coordinator training – April 14 & 15 – (eTrain #TE0087)
EOC Testing Support (during the testing window)
1. Dedicated technician available for onsite tech support. These technicians
will be dispatched to schools as needed.
2. HISD Service Desk will be trained in EOC online testing processes and
procedures.
3. Pearson Service Desk 1-800-252-9186
(M-F, 7:30 am - 5:30 pm, Central Time) - pearsononlinetesting@support.pearson.com
a. Direct contact with Pearson’s high-level tech support
Can Career and Technical Education workstations be used for EOC testing?
Career and Technical Education workstations can be used for EOC testing, however, the CTE teachers should work with the CTE leadership (Rosina Garcia) and campus administrators to coordinate the use of CTE labs and workstations. The TESTNav application will be loaded on all CTE work stations, giving the schools the flexibility to use the CTE labs as needed.
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