tetn #10414august 11, 2011 1 texas education agency’s student assessment division

TETN #10414 August 11, 2011

1Texas Education Agency’s Student Assessment Division

Disclaimer

TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas Assessment Program

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These slides have been prepared and approved by the Student Assessment Division of the Texas Education Agency.

If any slide is amended or revised for use in local or regional trainings, please remove the TEA footer at the bottom of the slide.

Agenda Training-Related Acronyms

ARD Committee Resources Web Page

Who takes what test?

The 4 Steps to Making Assessment Decisions

Participation Requirements

Factors to Consider When Making Assessment Decisions

TEA’s Student Assessment Division: Additional Resources

3 TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas Assessment Program

Training-Related Acronyms


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ARD - Admission, Review , and Dismissal

DAP - Distinguished Achievement Program

ELL - English Language Learners EOC - End-of-Course IDEA - Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act IEP - Individualized Education

Program LAT – TAKS linguistically

accommodated testing LEP - Limited English Proficiency LPAC - Language Proficiency

Assessment Committee MHSP - Minimum High School

Program STAAR - State of Texas

Assessments of Academic Readiness

STAAR L - Linguistically accommodated version of STAAR

TAC - Texas Administrative Code TAKS - Texas Assessment of

Knowledge and Skills TAKS–Alt - Texas Assessment of

Knowledge and Skills Alternate TAKS–M - Texas Assessment of

Knowledge and Skills Modified TEA - Texas Education Agency TEKS - Texas Essential

Knowledge and Skills TETN - Texas Education

Telecommunication Network PEIMS - Public Education

Information Management System RHSP - Recommended High

School Program

ARD Committee Resources Web Page The 2011-2012 ARD Committee Manual will NOT be

posted at this time This training PowerPoint takes the place of the

manual for now Teacher tools and other helpful resources will be

posted as soon as possible: Assessment program comparison chart List of required statewide assessments by grade level Access to the grade-level curriculum document TAKS–M versus STAAR Modified comparison chart Graduation flowchart Participation requirements Frequently asked questions Student scenarios5 TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas

Assessment Program

Who takes what test?

Who takes TAKS, TAKS (Accommodated), and/or TAKS–M?

Students in grade 10, 11, or 12* * TAKS and TAKS (Accommodated) exit level tests

and retests are available for students in grade 12. TAKS–M is not considered an exit level test and is not available for students in grade 12.

The applicable exit level/grade 11 assessment for students repeating grade 9 is TAKS, TAKS (Accommodated), or TAKS–M. However, TAKS, TAKS (Accommodated), and TAKS–M grade 9 tests will not be available in 2011–2012. Students repeating grade 9 will not be assessed in 2011–2012.


Who takes STAAR, STAAR Modified, and/or STAAR Alternate?

Students in grades 3-8 entering grade 9

Students in grades 3 through 11 who are eligible for an alternate assessment based on alternate academic achievement standards will take STAAR Alternate beginning in 2011–2012. TAKS–Alt will no longer be available.

It is important to note that there is no STAAR (Accommodated); however, eligible students will be allowed accommodations on STAAR. Visit the Accommodations Resources web page for

more information. 8 TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas

Assessment Program

What Tests Do ELLs Receiving Special Education Services Take?

TAKS Program

Same tests as on earlier TAKS slide, with addition of Grade 10 LAT for small number of LEP-exempt immigrant ELLs who receive special education services

For TAKS program, no changes to LEP exemptions LEP postponements for exit level Participation requirements for unschooled

asylees/refugees

More information in 2010–2011 LPAC Decision-Making Process for the Texas Assessment Program manual: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/ell/lpac/


STAAR Program STAAR in English STAAR in Spanish (grades 3-5) STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate STAAR L in English

STAAR L – linguistically accommodated STAAR tests for eligible ELLs

Available for math, science, and social studies, grade 3 and above, including EOC

No STAAR L forms of STAAR Modified but linguistic accommodations available for eligible ELLs who take STAAR Modified

STAAR L participation criteria to be somewhat different from TAKS LAT

Participation criteria to be in revised commissioner of education rules (proposed rules expected early fall)


TELPAS Program

For ELLs grades K–12

Listening, speaking, reading, writing

Measures annual growth in English language acquisition

In very rare cases ARD committee and LPAC may determine that student should not be assessed in one or more domains due to student’s particular disability

More information in 2010–2011 LPAC Decision-Making Process for the Texas Assessment Program manual: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/ell/lpac/

Reminders: These students have special needs related to a disability

as well as needs related to second language learning The ARD committee and LPAC must• work together to ensure that instruction is tailored to

meet each student’s special education and second language acquisition needs

• collaborate on assessment and accommodation decisions and document the decisions appropriately (for ARD committee, in IEP; for LPAC, document in student’s permanent record file)

• More information on ARD committee and LPAC collaboration: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/guidance/ardlpac.html

The 4 Steps to Making Assessment Decisions

1. Review the student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP).

ARD committees should have a clear understanding of the student’s performance in the grade-level/course TEKS, including the student’s strengths, current areas of need, and accommodations, modifications, or supports the student has used.


2. Review the student’s instructional plan.

The instructional plan includes the accommodations, modifications, or supports the student will need in order to access the grade-level/course TEKS.

ARD committees should have a clear understanding of how the student will access the grade-level/course curriculum. This is the basis for making appropriate assessment decisions.


3. Determine the appropriate assessment for the student.

The ARD committee must understand What statewide assessments are required and available

(STAAR, STAAR Modified, STAAR Alternate, STAAR L, TAKS, TAKS (Accommodated), TAKS–M, LAT)

The assessed TEKS The design and format of each statewide assessment The state’s accommodation policies The implications of taking a particular statewide

assessment

Participation in the general assessment, STAAR, should be the first consideration when determining the appropriate assessment for a student. If STAAR, with or without accommodations, is not

appropriate for a student, ARD committee must review participation requirements for one of the alternate assessments


If the assessment decision made at a previous meeting needs to be revised, it must be based on a change in instruction. There must be a difference in how the student

accesses the grade-level or course curriculum.

Simply passing or failing a state assessment is not sufficient reason to justify revising the assessment decision in the IEP.

If the student is an ELL, additional ELL assessment provisions may apply. ARD committee and LPAC collaboration is required.


4. Document the assessment decision. According to IDEA and The Legal Framework for the

Child-Centered Special Education Process, when an alternate assessment is selected, ARD committee must document in IEP:

Statement of why student cannot participate in general assessment with or without allowable accommodations

Statement of why an alternate assessment is appropriate for student, including evidence from IEP that confirms that answer to each of the questions for STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate is Yes or that all criteria for TAKS-M has been met

List of testing accommodations consistent with state accommodation policies posted on Accommodations Resources web page

For accommodations that require TEA approval through submission of an Accommodation Request Form, document “pending TEA approval”18 TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas

Assessment Program

For STAAR Alternate, the teacher will plan the specific supports, materials, and response modes based on the routinely used accommodations documented in the student’s IEP. The individualized preplanning that is required to be documented on page one of the state-required documentation form will become the allowable accommodations that must be used during the observation.

All assessment information must be communicated to campus testing coordinator in preparation for statewide testing


Participation Requirements

TAKS–M Participation Requirements


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To be used only for students in grades 10 and 11 during the 2011-2012 school year

New format but same eligibility criteria as previous years

References to TAKS–Alt criteria replaced with actual text

Posted on TAKS–M Resources web page

Look for document with “Updated Summer 2011” in footer

STAAR Modified Participation Requirements


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To be used for students in grades 3 through 8 and students entering grade 9 during the 2011-2012 school year

State-required documentation form Should be completed by district staff from ARD

committee Must be retained for each student who takes an

alternate assessment Can be filed

at campus level in IEP (although not a required part of IEP)

Three steps to determine if a modified assessment is appropriate for a student

23TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas

Assessment Program

STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Step I: Eligibility Criteria

Understand all assessment options Circle the subjects/courses for which STAAR Modified

is being considered

Circle NA, not applicable, for subjects/courses that do not apply to the student Subjects/courses for which STAAR Modified is not being

considered Subjects that are not tested at the student’s grade or

courses that the student is not enrolled in for the school year under consideration



For each subject/course for which STAAR Modified is being considered, answer Yes or No to 3 questions:



Each Yes answer requires a justification. What page(s) of the IEP contains evidence that the student meets that criterion?

If the answer to all 3 questions for each subject/course is Yes, the student is eligible to participate in STAAR Modified for that subject/course. Go on to Step II.

If the answer to any question is No, the student is not eligible to participate in STAAR Modified for that subject/course and must participate in one of the other statewide assessments.



Step II: Discuss Assurances

If an alternate assessment is selected, the ARD must discuss: Why general assessment is not appropriate Decision is based on multiple sources of evidence, not solely on

previous statewide assessment scores Decision is made by ARD, not administratively Decision is based on student’s educational need, not disability

category, racial or economic background, absences, or time/location of service delivery


STAAR Modified Participation Requirements For elementary and middle school students,

instructional and assessment decisions made now may impact a student’s graduation options in high school

For a student taking EOC assessments, the student is enrolled in a course with a PEIMS number that indicates coursework is modified Modified coursework = MHSP = no automatic admission into

a Texas 4-year university


STAAR Modified Participation Requirements Step III: Summarize Assessment Decisions

Indicate the subject/course for which the student has met the eligibility criteria for STAAR Modified.

STAAR Modified tests for English III, World History, and U.S. History are not available for the 2011-2012 school year. If a student is eligible for these assessments, he/she will not test this school year.

Algebra II, Chemistry, and Physics will not be assessed with STAAR Modified. If a student is eligible for these assessments, he/she will not test this school year.


Some questions we know you will eventually ask:


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1. Why would an ARD committee determine that a student is eligible for STAAR Modified in Algebra II, chemistry, or physics

if no modified assessment exists for these?

TEC §39.025 (a) Students on MHSP are required to take assessments for courses for which they are enrolled and for which an EOC assessment exists.

EXAMPLE If a student receiving special education services is

enrolled in a general Algebra II, chemistry, or physics class, he/she would take STAAR because the education code says that a student must take an assessment if it exists for that course.

If a student receiving special education services is enrolled in a modified Algebra II, chemistry, or physics class because he/she receives modified instruction, the ARD committee may determine that the student meets STAAR Modified participation requirements and he/she would not be assessed since STAAR Modified is not available for these courses.


2. Does the ARD committee have to reconvene if they determined that a student will take STAAR Modified during the 2011-2012

school year prior to these new participation requirements being posted?

In all cases, the school must informally review (not an ARD meeting) the new participation requirements and determine if each student is eligible to take the modified assessment. If the student DOES meet the new participation

requirements, an additional ARD meeting does not have to be scheduled. Simply update the IEP with the new requirements at the next regularly scheduled ARD meeting.

If the student DOES NOT meet the new participation requirements, an additional ARD meeting will have to be scheduled to discuss a change in the assessment decision.


STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements

Same eligibility criteria questions that were used for TAKS-Alt:

Does the student have a significant cognitive disability? Note: A significant cognitive disability limits the student’s

potential to reach grade-level expectations; whereas, a student with a learning disability has the potential to reach grade-level expectations, but has difficulty doing so as a result of the disability.

Does the student require specialized supports to access the grade-level curriculum and environment?

Does the student require intensive, individualized instruction in a variety of settings?


STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements Does the student access and participate in the

grade-level TEKS through prerequisite skills? Note: A student who accesses the grade-level TEKS through

modified instruction should not be designated for STAAR Alternate.

Does the student primarily demonstrate knowledge and skills through performance tasks?

New STAAR Alternate Participation Requirements posted on STAAR Alternate Resources page 8/8/11 Includes high school course selections with PEIMS codes

More information regarding ARD process for determining STAAR Alternate high school assessments provided at 9/7/11 TETN beginning at 1:00pm.


Factors to Consider When Making Assessment Decisions

Commissioner’s Rule Change on Substitute High School Courses OLD POLICY – NO LONGER ALLOWED

Some students receiving special education services could take locally developed courses that counted for credit toward completion of the requirements for the MHSP if an ARD committee determined that the state-approved course was not appropriate.

These locally developed courses were not required to be aligned to the TEKS for the state-required courses.

To be in compliance with federal law, all students must participate in the assessment system; therefore, without a change in policy regarding locally developed courses, students at the high school level would likely not be assessed or be assessed on curriculum to which they may not have sufficient access.


NEW POLICY = TAC §89.1070(b)(3) Districts will be allowed to continue providing

locally developed substitute courses for some students receiving special education services for the courses listed on the MHSP.

The content of these locally developed substitute courses must be fully aligned to the TEKS for the courses they replace.

Students will be required to participate in an EOC assessment (general, modified, or alternate) for the course that has been substituted.


Commissioner’s Rule Change on Substitute High School Courses

15% of Course Grade Applies to students entering grade 9 taking STAAR

end-of-course (EOC) assessments A student’s score on a STAAR EOC will account for 15

percent of the student’s final grade in the course. A student can retake any STAAR EOC assessment for

any reason, but a school district is not required to use a student’s score on subsequent administrations to determine the student’s final grade for that course.

In Texas, grading policies are determined and implemented at the district level, and TEA does not have the authority to mandate district grading policies that would govern how students’ final grades are determined.

Districts are not required to count STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate EOC assessment results as 15% of the student’s course grade since current legislation does not include this requirement for students taking a modified or alternate assessment. 40 TEA 8/11/11 ARD Committee Training for the Texas

Assessment Program

Cumulative Score Requirements For entering grade 9 students receiving special

education services who take STAAR EOC assessments ARD committee determines whether or not student has

to meet cumulative score requirement in order to graduate. This decision has bearing on whether student can graduate

on Distinguished Achievement Program (DAP), Recommended High School Program (RHSP), or MHSP.

Current legislation does not include a cumulative score requirement for students taking STAAR Modified or STAAR Alternate EOC assessments


Student Success Initiative (SSI) Since performance (passing) standards for grades

3-8 will not be established until October 2012, pass/fail performance on the assessment will not be provided.

So there will not be retest opportunities (May and June administrations) for grades 5 and 8 reading and mathematics in 2011-2012.

Districts will use other relevant academic information to make promotion/retention decisions. Recommendation of the student’s teacher Student’s grade in the subject Any other necessary academic information, as

determined by the district More information will be posted at a later date.


Graduation STAAR

Graduation flowchart for students receiving special education services who entered grade 9 in 2011-2012 (and thereafter) posted on the ARD Committee Resources web page

Additional training will be provided throughout the year to address questions and comments that educators have e-mailed to [email protected]

TAKS Graduation flowcharts A and B for students repeating

grade 9 and in grades 10-12 are updated and also posted on the ARD Committee Resources web page


TEA’s Student Assessment Division: Additional Resources


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Phone: (512) 463-9536

FAX: (512) 463-9302

E-mail: [email protected]

TETN Schedule: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/training/tetn-schedule/

tetn #10414august 11, 2011 1 texas education agency’s student assessment division

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