1. Cindy Blair Director of Testing
2017 Accommodations
Cindy Blair
Director of Testing

2. Campus Responsibility
This training does not take the place of reading the associated documents located on the TEA’s Accommodation Resources webpage.
Campus staff will need to read all of the policies and related resources once they are posted.
Accommodations, or supports, are changes to materials or procedures that enable students to access learning and testing. It is important to keep in mind that while some accommodations may be appropriate for instructional use, they may not be appropriate or allowable on a statewide assessment. 

3. Accommodations = Designated Supports
Should be individualized to address the specific needs of each student
Are not necessary for every student
Might be appropriate for classroom use but might not be appropriate or allowed for use on a state assessment
Are not changes to the performance criteria or the content
Should be evaluated regularly to determine effectiveness and to help plan for accommodations the student will need each year
Are not intended to provide an advantage to a student
Should be documented in the appropriate student paperwork
Should not be provided to a student without evidence of effectiveness from year to year

4. Policy Documents
Contain the information needed to make accommodation decisions for all students taking STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and TELPAS
Each document is organized the same way
Description of Accommodation
Assessments
Student Eligibility Criteria
Authority for Decision and Required Documentation
Examples/Types
Special Instructions/Considerations

5. Policy Documents
This section provides a general description of the accommodation. There will be an icon noting if an Accommodation Request Form is or is not needed
TEA approval is NOT required TEA approval IS required.
Accommodations may be used by eligible students only on the assessments listed in this section. In addition, this section may indicate whether the accommodation is available on paper, online, or both.

6. Policy Documents
This section lists the eligibility criteria that must be met in order for the student to use the Designated Support on a state assessment.
Only the committees listed in the Authority for Decision section can consider the eligibility for a student.
Depending on the accommodation, the eligibility may be very general or very specific.
All accommodations require that the student use the accommodation routinely, independently (if applicable), and effectively.

7. Policy Documents
This section describes who can make accommodation decisions for students, where to document these decisions, and what to record on the answer document.
Each of these bullets are NOT found on every Designated Support, meaning that not all students can be considered for all accommodations.
There are five teams that can make the decision based on the student’s program
ARDC for students being serviced by Special Education
504 committee for students being serviced Section 504
LPAC for students who are ELL (receiving services)
RTI team for students identified
Student Assistance Team

8. Policy Documents
This section describes the specific examples or types of the accommodation that may be used on the state assessment.
Pay careful attention to this list because it is sometimes exhaustive.
Only list on documentation the item(s) student will use, not all examples.
This section outlines special instructions and considerations about the accommodation that educators must be aware of when making the decisions to use the accommodation and administering the assessment with the accommodation.

9. SAISD E11Administrative Procedure
III TEST ASSIGNMENTS AND ACCOMMODATION
Notification Deadline: In order to organize, plan, and ensure correct state assessment assignments and accommodations, there is an established deadline for test assignments and all accommodations. ALL special program students’ test assignments and accommodations MUST be assigned three weeks prior to state testing. The ONLY applicable exceptions are for students NEW to the district or who have NEWLY qualified for a program.
2. The principal will ensure that ALL coordinators of special programs (Special Education, Bilingual/ESL, RtI/Dyslexia/504) on each campus provide the CTC accurate testing information (i.e. test type, language, accommodations, instructional levels, etc.) pertaining to special student populations at least three weeks prior to a state testing date.

10. Accommodations What was
The Triangle
Which committee makes the decision?
ARDC, 504 or RTI
ARDC or 504
ARDC

11. Accommodations What they are now
New organization of accommodation policy
Accessibility Features
Formally known as “Allowable Test Administration Procedures and Materials”
These are items available to any student based on need, such as color overlays, reminders to stay on task, scratch paper, highlighters…
New addition is Bilingual Dictionary for math, science, or social studies (simple word and phases, no definitions or examples)
Designated Supports
Formally known as Type 1 - (locally approved based on accommodation policy)
Designated Supports Requiring TEA Approval
Formally known as Type 2

12. Designated Supports Locally approved

13. Designated Supports with ONE Student Eligibility Criterion
A student may use these accommodations if he or she
routinely and effectively uses them during classroom instruction and classroom testing.
Same as Last Year
Change from Last Year
Individualized Structured Reminders
Manipulating Test Material
Amplification Devices
Basic Transcribing
Projection Devices
Dictionary
Braille

14. Designated Supports with ONE Eligibility Criterion: Assessments
Available on STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and TELPAS
Individualized Structured Reminders
Amplification Devices
Projection Devices
Basic Transcribing
Manipulating Test Material
Available on STAAR
Braille
Available on STAAR and STAAR Spanish grades 3-5 reading and writing tests
Dictionary
Refer to the specific policy document for a list of examples/types and for the special instructions/considerations.

15. Designated Supports with More than ONE Eligibility Criterion
EXTRA TIME
LARGE PRINT
ORAL/SIGNED ADMINISTRATION
CONTENT SUPPORTS
LANGUAGE AND VOCABULARY SUPPORTS
SPELLING ASSISTANCE
CALCULATION AIDS
MATHEMATICS MANIPULATIVES
SUPPLEMENTAL AIDS

16. Oral/Signed Administration
Paper Tests
Online Tests
STAAR and STAAR Spanish math, science, social studies
Questions, reference materials, and accommodations may be read aloud by test administrator
STAAR math, science, social studies
Questions and embedded supports can be read aloud by text-to-speech (TTS)
Reference materials and accommodations may be read aloud by test administrator
STAAR and STAAR Spanish reading and English I-III reading section
STAAR reading and English I-III reading section
Questions and embedded supports can be read aloud by TTS
STAAR and STAAR Spanish writing and English I-III writing section
Required reference materials and accommodations may be read aloud by test administrator
STAAR writing and English I-III writing section
Revising passages, revising questions, and embedded supports can be read aloud by TTS

17. Notable Changes
Linguistic accommodations are now included in Accessibility and Designated Supports (see policy documents for authorization)
Calculation Aides now include addition and multiplication charts (used to be under supplemental aides). Will limit use for grades 3 and 4.
Oral/Signed Administration now includes current ELL and clarification between the support differences between on-line or paper administrations
Supplemental Aids now includes ELL based on LPAC decisions. Removed addition and multiplication charts as allowable aides – moved to Calculation Aides
See all policy documents when posted for full eligibility,

18. Notes
All students now take STAAR, STAAR Spanish, or STAAR Alternate 2.
All students can take an on-line STAAR test but must be eligible for: Text to Speech (TTS), Language and Vocabulary Support (LS), or Content Support (CS).
Format of assessment is based on individual student needs and eligibility.
Headphones are needed for any student who has TTS.
There is no longer a 3 year limit on ELLs for linguistic accommodation during testing
Evidence of reading difficulties must be documented for students not receiving special education or Section 504 services to be eligible for an oral administration
District will define what the documentation will be

19. District Documentation
This form needs to be completed by any committee that meets to assign STAAR accommodations. The authorized committee will be in accordance with the TEA guidance. The document must be completed and signed by the campus or district representative and provided to the CTC with 24 hours of the meeting.
The CTC is responsible for checking that the accommodations are in Test Hound.
The CTC will complete the Accommodation Envelope for each student prior to assessments.

20. QUESTIONS