What to know about STAAR 2023 tests for parents and students

Students across the state completed state-mandated tests in May.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test, is used to determine whether a student is likely to be successful in the next grade. Test results are also one of the main data points used to determine a school’s accountability rating.

When and how can parents see test results?

Families will get to see preliminary results for high school assessments on June 30. Final results should be shared with schools and families in the second week of August.

Final results for elementary and middle school assessments are expected by mid-August. Results will be published online for families on Aug. 16.

Schools will begin seeing early results for third through eighth grades and guidance indicating which scores might be passing in June.

The STAAR results family portal is online at texasassessment.gov, where families can see how their child answered each question.

The website also includes resources for student support.

Corpus Christi ISD plans to host a parent session on how to access results during the district’s annual Tech2Teach conference in July.

What do the results mean?

For each student, the state assigns a category indicating whether or not they are expected to be successful in the next grade level.

The performance categories are: did not meet grade level, approaches grade level, meets grade level and masters grade level.

A student who did not meet grade level did not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of knowledge and skills. This result indicates that a student is unlikely to succeed in the next grade level or course without significant, ongoing academic intervention.

A student who approaches grade level shows they can apply assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts. They are likely to succeed if they receive targeted academic intervention.

"Approaches grade level" is considered passing, according to Sonia Zyla, Corpus Christi ISD senior director of assessment and accountability.

The "meets grade level" category includes students with a high likelihood of success in the next year, though they may still need some short-term targeted academic intervention.

Additionally, the "meets" level for Algebra II and English III indicates a student is sufficiently prepared for postsecondary success in college.

At the masters level, a student is expected to succeed with little or no academic intervention.

“Those are typically our students who are in the 90% or above in terms of demonstrating high mastery of the content,” Zyla said.

At CCISD, students who test in the masters category often take high school-level courses in middle school and courses where they can earn college credit in high school.

When building schedules, the district uses STAAR performance levels to help determine whether a student may benefit from tutoring or enrichment.

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Under current state law, school district must provide at least 30 hours of tutoring to students in each subject area of the STAAR test where they did not meet grade level.

If a student does not meet grade level, it does not mean they will be held back, Zyla said, but they will be recommended for additional support.

How was the test different this year?

The state rolled out a redesign of the STAAR test this year, including new types of questions.

The changes come as a result of legislation passed in 2019.

For most students, the tests were also moved entirely online. Some students with circumstances that prevent them from testing online qualified for paper tests, and the STAAR Alternate 2 program for students with significant cognitive disabilities was also excluded from the electronic testing requirement.

Online testing was available, though not required, last year. As a result, some schools opted to adopt the new testing format earlier.

Corpus Christi ISD took two years to make the transition, Zyla said. In 2021, 70% of the district completed online STAAR tests. Last year, all but about 50 students took online STAAR tests.

Additionally, schools also shifted to online assessments throughout the year.

Zyla said that schools were prepared for this shift as a result of remote learning during the pandemic, though the district had already been planning to move to online testing.

Pandemic relief funding helped schools across the state invest in technology, purchasing devices for students and improving internet access.

The tests now include more non-multiple-choice questions, aimed at allowing students more ways to show understanding and to better align with the ways teachers ask questions in class. Under state law, no more than 75% of the total points on a test can be based on multiple-choice questions.

“It gives the students the ability to interact with tests in a different way other than just answering A, B, C or D,” Zyla said.

Other types of questions include fill-in-the-blank and short answer.

Reading comprehension questions also referenced topics students learned in other classes. Stand-alone writing tests for fourth and seventh graders were also eliminated. Instead there was a shift to writing using evidence students read in text.

What do schools and the state use the results for?

The state uses STAAR assessments to rate each district and school in Texas. At the high school level, other factors including graduation rates and career and technical education programs are also taken into account.

The public can view each school’s rating online at txschools.gov.

CCISD has been able to improve STAAR performance in recent years and maintain its B accountability rating.

More: TEA released school scorecards. Here's how CCISD and South Texas schools rank.

In 2022, the percentage of students who did not meet grade level fell to 30% in all subjects from 40% the previous year. This includes gains in math and reading, Zyla said.

“We’ve seen that we are in some areas either at or above what we were doing in pre-pandemic 2019,” Zyla said.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas STAAR 2023 testing results expected this summer