Student Dashboard Metrics Chapter 3 - State Assessments

Chapter Introduction

A standards based educational model took hold in the United States during the Reagan era following the 1983 release of A Nation at Risk. This started wide ranging reforms to ensure that all students were prepared for college and the modern workplace. To this end, a standards based curriculum was enacted with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1994 and reinforced in 2001 with No Child Left Behind’s use of standardized test based accountability. Now all 50 states have standards for learning that are assessed by a state standardized test. Policy makers acknowledge these standards as the central framework that guides state education policy (Darling-Hammond & Wentworth, 2010).

Standardized testing has become a common practice in education and is used to hold schools accountable for teaching students the state defined content standards. Typically, standardized tests are administered annually or at key transitional grade levels depending on the state and subject area. The benefit of standardized testing as opposed to other types of data collection is just that, it is standard across all students tested. A standardized test therefore allows for comparison that would not otherwise be possible. State standardized tests are aligned with the state defined content standards; therefore, educators can use these tests to get a clear picture of what students know and where the instruction should be focused. In addition to state standardized tests, there are national and international standardized tests used to measure and compare student performance. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas while PISA is the largest international standardized assessment. Both of these assessments are used by the national and international communities to track the progress of students and therefore the overall health and effectiveness of the nation’s education system. Best practices from high performing nations can be used and implemented globally.

Standardized assessments are closely followed by educators, legislators, parents and state and federal accountability staff, as a measure of overall campus and district health. Classroom educators use state test results to drive instruction at the standards level. When aggregated at the campus, district and state levels, the results measure absolute student performance, achievement gaps, and track improvements over time, which tie to both state and federal funding and accountability requirements.

Introduction

State standardized tests align with the state defined content standards and the results tell educators what students have mastered as well as what standards and curriculum need to be addressed. All states look at results in terms of multiple levels of achievement, most commonly a level indicating whether a student has met the state-defined standard of proficiency and a level of advanced proficiency which in later grades often aligns with college readiness. These levels of achievement indicate a student’s general knowledge of state defined content standards for a particular grade level.

With the advent of NCLB, states must report state standardized assessment results at the campus, district and state levels on an annual basis. Assessments are one of several student outcome measures used to determine whether campuses and districts are meeting accountability standards and making adequate progress as defined by both state and federal mandates.

The results are used not only to ensure that all students are meeting a minimum threshold for success in a given subject and grade, but also to identify differences or achievement gaps between key populations such as economically disadvantaged, ethnicity, English Language Learners, and to track progress over time at the student, campus and district levels. Many states, such as Texas, are transitioning to using End of Course (EOC) exams at the high school level to assess students’ knowledge of specific subject areas in a more targeted way.

For additional background information on the Texas statewide assessment, including the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) system, please refer to the overview of Testing and Accountability on the Texas Education Agency website at www.tea.state.tx.us. Additional information on the statewide assessment requirements for all states is available at www.ed.gov.

How to Use the Metric

The State Standardized Test (in Texas this is the STAAR and EOC) Performance metric allows educators to easily review scores, passing rates and trends for a student’s standardized test (STAAR and EOC) performance in all tested subjects applicable to the grade level. By reviewing prior year STAAR and EOC results reported in this metric for current students, teachers can quickly identify which students will require additional support in order to meet standards for the current grade.

Having identified these students, teachers should also review the number of objectives each student met (based on the Texas state standards, TEKS) in each subject. Teachers may also review STAAR and EOC performance and STAAR and EOC performance by objective for each student in the class and for the class as a whole in a “classroom” view. With a classroom view, teachers and campus leaders can quickly identify all the students within a particular classroom struggling with STAAR and EOC and the underlying subjects and objectives with which each student and multiple students are struggling. With this information, the teacher is able to group students and plan instruction and academic interventions accordingly.

Teachers should also review how close each student’s score fell to the thresholds for the performance category (e.g., fail, met standard or commended). In the case of students close to failing, along with those failing, teachers can introduce academic interventions in the applicable subject areas to avoid a future failure. Conversely, teachers can also provide additional reinforcement and support to students whose scores are meeting standard but close to commended performance. Teachers can also monitor how well students taking alternative tests, such as those receiving special education services, are progressing as well as their ability to transition into standard test format.

STAAR and EOC performance data for the prior year should be reviewed at the beginning of the school year and as often as new issues regarding a student’s classroom performance are brought to light. When new STAAR and EOC data become available in the spring, teachers will be able to review the same STAAR and EOC performance information for all current students.

STAAR Performance

Introduction

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) program is designed to measure the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. In spring 2012, the STAAR assessment replaced the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) assessment. The STAAR assessment includes grade-level assessments for grades 3-8 and end of course (EOC) assessments for high school level subjects.

The STAAR assessment is available in the following forms: paper, online, braille, and Spanish.

There are four versions of the STAAR assessment:

STAAR replaces the TAKS assessment and includes assessments for grades 3-8 and End of Course exams for high school level subjects.
STAAR Alternate 2 replaced STAAR-Alt in December 2016 and meets the federal requirements mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and is designed for the purpose of assessing students in grades 3-8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.
STAAR L is a linguistically accommodated English version of the STAAR for grades 3-8 and EOC mathematics, science, and social studies assessments. It is provided for English Language Learners (ELLs) who meet participation requirements for a substantial degree of linguistic accommodation in these subject areas. After the December 2016 administration, STAAR L will no longer be administered.
STAAR Spanish is available in grades 3-5 in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. STAAR Spanish is administered to eligible students for whom a Spanish version of STAAR is the most appropriate measure of their academic progress. STAAR Spanish tests are grade-level assessments and test the same grades and subjects as the general STAAR.

Note: The last administration of STAAR-M was in 2013-2014.

There are three levels of academic performance for the STAAR assessment:

Level III: Advanced - student is well prepared and has a high likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts both familiar and unfamiliar and will require little to no academic intervention.
Level II: Satisfactory– student is sufficiently prepared and has a reasonable likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and may require short term, targeted academic intervention.
Level I: Unsatisfactory– student is inadequately prepared and unlikely to succeed in the next grade or course; student does not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the assessed knowledge and skills and will require ongoing academic intervention.

Metric Specifications

STAAR End of Course Performance

Introduction

The STAAR assessment is available in the following forms: paper, online, braille, and Spanish.

There are four versions of the STAAR assessment:

STAAR replaces the TAKS assessment and includes assessments for grades 3-8 and End of Course exams for high school level subjects.
STAAR Alternate 2 meets the federal requirements mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and is designed for the purpose of assessing students in grades 3-8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.
STAAR L is a linguistically accommodated English version of the STAAR for grades 3-8 and EOC mathematics, science, and social studies assessments. It is provided for English Language Learners (ELLs) who meet participation requirements for a substantial degree of linguistic accommodation in these subject areas. After the December 2016 administration, STAAR L will no longer be administered.
STAAR Spanish is available in grades 3-5 in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. STAAR Spanish is administered to eligible students for whom a Spanish version of STAAR is the most appropriate measure of their academic progress. STAAR Spanish tests are grade-level assessments and test the same grades and subjects as the general STAAR.

Note: The last administration of STAAR-M was in the 2013-2014 school year.

There are four levels of academic performance for the STAAR assessment:

Level III: Advanced - student is well prepared and has a high likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts both familiar and unfamiliar and will require little to no academic intervention.
Level II: Satisfactory– student is sufficiently prepared and has a reasonable likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and may require short term, targeted academic intervention.
Level I: Unsatisfactory– student is inadequately prepared and unlikely to succeed in the next grade or course; student does not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the assessed knowledge and skills and will require ongoing academic intervention.
Minimum: The STAAR EOC exam score reports will also indicate whether the student met a Minimum score, which is recommended by the Texas Legislature as a requirement for passing the course, as well as the exam.

A Level III: Advanced Academic Performance achievement in the following subject areas indicates that the students are prepared for postsecondary endeavors with support:

STAAR End of Course – English III, Algebra II

A Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance achievement in the following subject areas indicates that the students are prepared for postsecondary endeavors with support:

STAAR End of Course – English III, Algebra II

Metric Specifications

TELPAS

Introduction

English Language Learners (ELL) are an important and large segment of the school-aged population. The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) metric indicates TELPAS scores and corresponding language levels for ELL students. Moreover, in focus groups with over 2,600 Texas educators, the TELPAS metric was repeatedly called out as necessary for classroom educators. The TELPAS metric will display language proficiency and improvement for students throughout the district.