1. STAAR/EOC Overview of Assessment Program HISD Professional Support & Development High School Science Team

2. Background of STAAR for High School The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) starting in the 2011-2012 school year. New ninth-grade students entering high school in 2011-2012 and beyond will fall under the STAAR testing system and graduation requirements. Current high school students who entered prior to 2011-2012 will remain under the TAKS system and their existing graduation requirements.

3. STAAR Transition Timeline

4. End Of Course Exams (EOC) Students not enrolled in a class would not be required to take the EOC exam for that course. Students will initially take the STAAR tests listed above during the spring semester of enrollment in the class. For students who fail to reach the minimum passing requirements, numerous retesting opportunities will also be offered.

5. End Of Course Exams (EOC) The STAAR EOC tests focus on the content for a specific course compared to TAKS tests that covered general subject knowledge by grade level. The STAAR EOC assessment scores will count toward 15 percent of a student’s grade in the corresponding courses and will create a cumulative score for each core content area to be used for graduation eligibility. (More specific information on graduation requirements appears below.)

6. End Of Course Exams (EOC) STAAR will include more difficult testing and require a higher level of student performance than TAKS required. The Chemistry and Physics EOC’s will include a type of open-ended question known as a griddable item. The purpose of griddable items is to allow students to develop answers independently without being influenced by answer choices provided with the questions (commonly known as multiple-choice). The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has provided further explanation about griddable items at www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/. www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/

7. Biology EOC Blueprint

8. Chemistry EOC Blueprint

9. Physics EOC Blueprint

10. Griddable Items for STAAR/EOC Assessments The correct answer can be a positive or a negative number. If the answer is a negative number, students must enter a negative sign. If no sign is marked, the answer will default to a positive number. The answer grid includes a floating decimal point. If the answer is a decimal number, students must enter a decimal point. Students must enter their answer in the boxes (paper and online) and then fill in the corresponding bubbles (paper only).

11. Griddable Items for STAAR/EOC Assessments Biology 0 Griddable Items 54 Total Items Chemistry 5 Griddable Items 52 Total Items Physics 5 Griddable Items 50 Total Items

12. Performance Standards For the general STAAR assessments, STAAR Modified, and linguistically accommodated forms of STAAR, the labels for the performance categories are : Level III Accomplished Academic Performance Level II Satisfactory Academic Performance Level I Unsatisfactory Academic Performance

13. Performance Standards Level I: Unsatisfactory Academic Performance Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance Level III: Advanced Academic Performance* Performance in this category indicates that students are inadequately prepared for the next grade or course. They do not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the assessed knowledge and skills. Students in this category are unlikely to succeed in the next grade or course without significant, ongoing academic intervention. Performance in this category indicates that students are sufficiently prepared for the next grade or course. They generally demonstrate the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts. Students in this category have a reasonable likelihood of success in the next grade or course but may need short-term, targeted academic intervention. Performance in this category indicates that students are well prepared for the next grade or course. They demonstrate the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts, both familiar and unfamiliar. Students in this category have a high likelihood of success in the next grade or course with little or no academic intervention. *For Algebra II and English III, this level of performance also indicates students’ postsecondary readiness.

14. Performance Standards Satisfactory Academic Performance on the EOCs will be considered passing. There will also be EOC minimum scores set below but within a reasonable range of the passing performance. A student must achieve a minimum score or higher on an EOC assessment for the test to be counted. If a student does not achieve the minimum score on an EOC assessment, the student shall retake the assessment. Further explanation about minimum scores can be found under the "Graduation Requirements" section below.

15. Performance Standards

16. Graduation Criteria All graduating students will have to meet cumulative in each content (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) passing scale score requirements in each content area, which have not yet been established. TEA expects these performance standards to be set in February 2012. The cumulative passing scale score requirement may vary by subject area.

17. Graduation Step by Step STAAR Step 1: Obtain a cumulative passing score or higher (All graduation plans)

18. Graduation Step by Step Example 1a: If the passing scale score on each of the three science EOC assessments happens to be set at 1000, then The student’s cumulative score ≥ 1000 x 3 The student’s cumulative score ≥ 3000 Note: For a single EOC score to count toward the student’s cumulative score, a minimum score must be achieved. However, achieving only the minimum score on the EOC assessments will not meet the cumulative passing scale score requirement.

19. Graduation Step by Step Example 1b: The passing scale score on each of the three science EOC assessments happens to be set at 1000, so the student’s cumulative score must be equal or greater than 3000. However, the minimum scale score on each of the three science EOC assessments happens to be 900. Note: Student reaches at least the minimum score of 900 on all three science exams: 950 on Biology 1,000 on Chemistry 900 on Physics Therefore, the student’s cumulative score is 2850 Since 2850 does not meet the cumulative score requirement of 3000, the student must retest to achieve the cumulative passing scale score requirement for science.

20. Graduation Step by Step STAAR Step 2: Pass the Algebra II and English III EOC (Recommended graduation plan)

21. Graduation Step by Step STAAR Step 3 (Optional): Perform satisfactorily on the college- readiness components of Algebra II and English III (Distinguished graduation plan)

22. STAAR Videos http://www.neisd.net/staar/videos/video.html

23. Testing Dates Biology May 9th Chemistry May 17th Physics May 14th Testing Dates for Science EOC

24. Resource Web site The STAAR Resources web page contains a wealth of information. Examples: -Comparison of TAKS and STAAR assessments -STAAR overview -STAAR performance labels & definitions -What TEKS student expectations will be assessed -Test blueprints -Test designs -Scoring rubrics -Assessing process skills -Griddable item format -Additional information Website: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staarhttp://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar New information will be added to this page as it is available.