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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
STATE OF TEXAS ASSESSMENTS OF ACADEMIC 1. Release of STAAR materials on September 29th. (Rubrics,
READINESS (STAAR)
prompts, etc.)
Grades 3−8 Reading
Grades 4 and 7 Writing
2. Grade 4 –maybe sooner.
English I, II, and III 3. Expository rubrics are at the very end of final refinements.
Victoria Young 4. Pay close attention to the expository rubric for high school.
Director of Reading, Writing, and
Social Studies Assessments
5. Do NOT purchase test prep materials. These tests do not lend
Texas Education Agency themselves to test prep.
6. Use of text evidence to confirm ideas on poetry, drama, and
persuasive (for drama, includes both dialogue and stage directions).—Teachers should be
teaching this in elementary.
7. Genres are not linked by topic. They asked, ―Do these pieces lend themselves to depth?‖
8. 4 hour time limit—lunch doesn’t count but breaks do.
STAAR Reading 2. Most of this presentation will be on writing and what was learned in
STAAR reading assessments will emphasize
students’ ability
the field test. Basic stuff will not be reviewed. Sometimes there is a
to “go beyond” a literal understanding gulf between what administrators know and what teachers know. We
of what they read assume that teachers know all this. One teacher asked if she
to make connections within and across
texts (“across texts” begins at grade 4 should be teaching “how to” and classification for expository
on STAAR but needs to begin much
earlier instructionally)
writing. We cannot assume that people know that we have to
to think critically/inferentially about go beyond the literal understanding of reading. You can’t just
different types of texts
read the lines. You have to read between and beyond the lines.
This is basic stuff. Reading 101. We have to make connections within and across texts. You
have to look at the points across a story line and cross those dots. To see thematic
connections, think critically to read between the lines. Reading teachers should start
with these things. When the teacher asked about the writing, it brings home the idea that we
have to do this together. We have to go back and communicate this to teachers. I have to
communicate at the state level and administrators at the district level. Good teachers are already
doing this in their classrooms. It is the weaker ones that we need to be concerned with. This new
design is to make it difficult to make prep materials. Use caution with publishers creating
“stuff” for test prep. I want to go back to real teaching in the classroom. It doesn’t lend
itself to prep. Anything can go with anything for the reading. Kids will be surprised—the
pairs in the tests are all kinds of things. They look different from grade to grade. It all
depended on how well it worked together.
STAAR Reading 3. There were problems on the field test when kids were asked about
STAAR reading assessments will emphasize
text evidence. ―Which sentence proves that ____.‖ Some kids have
students’ ability more trouble with non-prose pieces like drama and poetry when we
to understand how to use text evidence
to confirm the validity of their ideas ask about which idea supports the author’s assertion in a persuasive
(new on STAAR—understanding how
text evidence works with poetry,
piece. They really don’t know how text evidence works unless it
drama, and persuasive pieces; e.g., text is in a story. Using text evidence in expository reading is
evidence for drama includes both
dialogue and stage directions) different than using text evidence a story. Even the prose
pieces are different. In drama we are using stage directions
and dialogue. Teachers need to know that kids need to know how stage directions work.
Stage directions have a purpose in plays. We may get descriptions about characters in
stage directions. A question may say “from both the stage directions and the dialogue….
We noticed differences in performances.” Something may be supported by putting them
together.
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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
Student Success in Reading 4. We have instructional genres of fiction and expository. Fiction
and on STAAR
Students must be provided in-depth and expository texts are readiness and on the test every single
instruction in all genres represented by the year. Students have to make connections across strands. We
ELA/R TEKS
Students must learn to analyze both fiction think about the strands as being literary and informational. Genres
and expository genres—the readiness
genres—at elementary, middle, and high are the specifics within each strand. Thematic links are not
school linked by topic. They could be in a rare case, but not usually. Topical
Instruction must emphasize
critical/inferential thinking rather than thematic links are not many times thematic. They don’t lend
isolated skills
Students must be able to make connections themselves to any kind of depth or critical questioning. We do early
between different genres and strands (and passage review (EPR) to approve or reject passages. We look at pieces
be able to “see” the thematic links)
before questions are written to see if these pieces lend themselves to
depth with a deep thematic link. If they are shallow—we reject the pair. Some will be regrouped to
have pairs with more depth. At the district level, you might do the same thing to decide what goes
together. Decide what should go first and what should go second. They will appear in all kinds
of order.
Student Success in Reading 5. A four-hour time limit doesn’t include lunch but has breaks
and on STAAR
within that time. Some kids can still get accommodations. No
Students must understand the relationship more kids sitting for eight hours taking tests. We need to work with
between reading strategies and making
meaning. teachers to understand that reading strategies, like grammar,
Students must learn to use reading
strategies judiciously, especially given the do not have their own intrinsic value. Grammar does not have
4-hour time limit. intrinsic value. They are valuable for communication and
roadmaps on making meaning from text. I don’t think kids are
being taught reading strategies purposefully. They are tools to help you
find meaning. The kids need to be taught when to use a reading strategy to figure out the meaning.
Reading strategies have to be used judiciously. They do not have to show reading strategies
on the test on every single question. Use the strategies when you are stuck, to make a
prediction, or you find something that is not true or a surprise. A lot of kids hate reading
because we impose this on them.
STAAR Written Composition 6. Essays are weighted equally. Grade 4 and 7 personal
Students will write two one-page essays narrative and expository are valued the same. There is no
(26 lines maximum) addressing different gatekeeper. Tables are being developed to show the bridge between
types of writing
Grade 4−personal narrative and difficulty of TAKS and STAAR. We are doing scenarios with staff by
expository
Grade 7−personal narrative (with saying if a child gets 65% of the answers right and the essay score is
extension) and expository 1/2 or 1/1 or 2/2, where would that put them on the table. We didn’t
English I−literary and expository
English II−expository and persuasive have a difficulty target this year. For year one, we built a good test for
English III−persuasive and analytical
Essays will be weighted equally each grade. The gatekeeper thing is important. Getting a one on one
No “gatekeeper” (automatic fail of the of the compositions doesn’t sink you.
writing test for a 1)
STAAR Writing Prompts 7. Scaffolding is meant to help kids figure out what the prompt is
Expository, persuasive, and analytical asking them to do. We have READ, THINK, WRITE, and BE SURE
prompts contain a stimulus and are
scaffolded: TO.
Read, Think, Write, Be Sure to −
STAAR Writing Prompts—Scaffolding 8. READ a short synopsis or quotation. The THINK generalizes—the
Read: A short synopsis of some kind or a
quotation purpose is to push kids out of the synopsis or the box. Then the WRITE
is reworded and more focused. The BE SURE TO is not in its own box
Think: The synopsis or quotation
and captures all the parts of the rubric.
generalized and reworded
Write: An even more focused rewording
Be Sure to: 4−5 bullets here (stating a
clear thesis, organizing your writing,
developing it, choosing words carefully,
proofreading)
The kids will see the READ, THINK, WRITE and BE SURE TO in bold face and caps. The
rest is in plain type. The READ portion is closely related to all kids, something that kids
will be able to relate to no matter who they are, their experiences, where they come
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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
from, where they live—they will be able to understand. The synopsis is in its own box. We
are going to push them out of the box. THINK about ____. We don’t want them to write
an essay about ___.) Then we push them out of the box by generalizing the topic.
WRITE: this is the charge. Students must know what explain means. We do not want a
story; we want explanation about ___. All of the expository prompts for grade four look
something like this. We think about what kids know about, what they can write about
with their background experience. We are not asking for a “how to” or a classification.
Students need to tell WHY ___ to inform the reader. They have to know what EXPLAIN
actually means. There are all kinds of expository writing. We want explanatory.
This is the language for all grade four expository prompts. The language matches the
TEKS. The prompt takes up about ½ the page. Composition #1 in big letters is at the top
of the personal narrative prompt page and Composition #2 on the expository. We want to
make sure kids know what they are supposed to do. This will also be done all the way up
to high school for kids to show their best writing and to keep kids on tract.
Grade 7. This is a quotation versus a synopsis. It is more a more demanding way of making
connections across the three parts of the prompt. Read, think, write will be bold faced at middle
school but not at high school. There was a huge difference in the field tests for personal narrative
and expository. Notice that the THINK interprets the quotation for them; it is not just a
restatement. Think about the connection to the quote. The THINK helps students understand the
quote. They can write to the prompt any way they want to.
There is more complexity at grade 7 to synthesize across the read, think, and write. We made the
Be Sure To a little different from grade four and we are trying to step more into high school. Some
are synopses—longer and demand more than grade 4, but they are not as hard as the high school.
We are trying to think developmentally about how kids think and synthesize information. 4th and 7th
grade teachers need to see the high school prompts; look at the analytical prompts to see where
kids have to end up to write analytically and persuasively.
Here’s persuasive at English II. There is a difference from the seventh grade quotation to English II.
There is a step up from 7th grade. That’s what teachers have to see.
We got some great pieces on this…even on a field test that didn’t count. Here’s the charge. We are
not asking questions about a longer school day, bully on the playground, school uniforms, should
we build a football field or library. TAAS is gone. This is issue based. We spent a long time deciding
what high school assessments should look like…what a good prompt looks like. They wouldn’t be
able to bring enough knowledge to the table to make a good argument. Kids really did have good
things to say. These students are at the age when they are defining themselves as individuals as
individuals who are close to being out of their parents’ house. It gives kids a chance to show us that
they don’t have to follow a formula but show how they think about themselves in this world. Go
back and look at the 4th and 7th prompts; do you see the kind of personal tact we are trying to
take? It’s at all different levels, but it builds and works.
STAAR Analytical Essay 9. I don’t know if this was too hard or if kids weren’t motivated to read
A combination of expository writing and the 300-350 word piece; but the pieces were terrible. We had some
interpretation of one aspect of a literary or
expository text good papers here and there. Sprinklings in all the analytical prompts.
Analytical prompts contain a literary or
informational text (approximately 350−450 But over 50% of kids got 1s. They can’t do this. They can’t do this
words), which students must analyze across prompts. It didn’t matter if it was an easy literary piece to read
Score based on the student’s ability to
interpret the text and support it with or a challenging expository one that was interesting to kids. They can’t
relevant textual evidence (15C) AND quality
of the writing (criteria under expository do this yet. That’s the place we have to work. Some pieces were from
writing in 15A) the New York Times. This is like short answer at the beginning of TAKS.
We cannot wait until high school for kids to learn how to do this. This is
our big college readiness piece. They have to read and analyze to write expository pieces about
what they read. We cannot wait until English III to start working on this. We have to work on this
at elementary and middle school level. They have to write expository responses about what they
read regardless of their major in college. We are asking for a very specific interpretation; an aspect
of the text, what the author thinks about this issue, does the author use evidence effectively, how
does the character feel about her mother. Students have to be able to read a piece and analyze it.
This is different from short answer because we are looking not only at the validity of the analysis
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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
but also the rhetorical quality of the writing. This is hard. Some were really good at it but not
enough. There were high numbers of 1s and 2s. The score is based on the student’s ability to
interpret the text and support it with relevant textual evidence. The criteria are based on the TEKS:
15C-interpretive writing and 15A-expository writing. We are doing range finding on this tomorrow.
We built an English III reading and writing test and will give this at 40 community colleges, college
and universities across Texas. We are giving this to kids in freshman English classes. We are paying
the kids to take it. This is being done for algebra II and English III. We have their ACT and SAT
scores along with their first semester grades and what kind of class they were in during their first
semester of college. We will try to make some judgments about how well our college readiness
score can predict success in college. This is called the contrasting groups study, and there are 1500
kids taking the tests.
STAAR Personal Narrative 10. The big issues about personal narratives are based on where
Personal narrative prompts contain a
stimulus and are scaffolded, though less so they are in the curriculum. At 7th grade, they have to extend the
than other prompts. personal narrative. For both 4th (17A) and 7th (16A) the essay
Grade 4—SE 17(A) write about important
personal experiences cannot be fictional. Psychometricians are focusing on a test study at
Grade 7—16(A) write a personal narrative
that has a clearly defined focus and Pearson to link the field test to the TAKS writing score. The weird
communicates the importance of or phenomenon in the field test was linked back to the TAKS writing score.
reasons for actions and/or consequences
Personal narratives must be based on TAKS was given in March and the field test in April. Instead of making
students’ real experiences—they cannot be
fictional! (Literary writing: 16[A] at grade 4 kids take two prompts, the kids took only one field test. Some high 4s
and 15[A] at grade 7.) on TAKS had low scores on STAAR and others that had low scores on
TAKS and high on STAAR. The students got low scores because they
wrote a personal narrative. The high scores on expository may have happened because of the
scaffolding and picture in the prompt. It depended on which STAAR field test prompt they took. I
don’t think their writing ability transfers across the board. They can’t write a personal narrative
for expository. We saw fiction writing for the personal narrative—a Score Point 1. It was
thought of as wrong form. They have to think in the right kind of writing. We may not
know if something is real, but it has to be believable for a fourth grader. For example,
they can’t write that their special person is their college professor. They’re nine. They
can’t do this. They can’t go to the moon. It has to be believable for a nine year old. They
write about their own important personal experiences. We are moving them toward
memoir. This is a big shift for teachers.
STAAR Literary Writing 11. Personal narrative in the curriculum goes away at high school. We
Literary prompts (English I) also contain a are assessing literary at English I. Students write literary texts to
stimulus and are scaffolded.
English I Knowledge and Skill Statement: express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events,
Students write literary texts to express
their ideas and feelings about real or
ideas. It can be real or imaginative. They have to write a story. Only
imagined people, events, and ideas. 14A is acceptable. 14B is poetry and 14C is a script. Both are ineligible.
STAAR based on SE 14(A): write an
engaging story with a well-developed
conflict and resolution, interesting and
believable characters, and a range of
literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense)
and devices to enhance the plot
Literary responses can be real or fictional!
In grade 7 and high school, some pictures will be realistic and some symbolic. We are weaving in
the extension into the prompt. Tell why something is important. This is getting at the consequence
of the actions. We wove the extension into the prompt and all the way through the rubric. This gets
to the consequence of the actions. It is not enough just to tell a story. They have to write about
WHY they chose this, why it is important, what were the consequences, why you did what you did,
reflecting on the personal thing that happened to them. No symbolic pictures at 4th yet, only
realistic. We are trying to use pictures of kids around the same age of the students.
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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
STAAR English I Literary 12. You could take a prompt out of personal narrative and change it to
Look at the photograph. literary. Let’s pretend we are doing this and change it to high school,
we would say: Write a story about making a difficult decision. We are
PHOTOGRAPH
not putting ―you‖ in the prompt. We are doing it in the third person.
They could write anything. It can be fiction, personal narrative, a third-
Write a story about ____________. Be sure
that your story is focused and complete and person story, anything they want can be in the literary essay. Be sure
that it has an interesting plot and engaging
characters.
that your story is focused and complete and that it has an interesting
plot and engaging characters. This tag is on all literary prompts for
English I. There is no THINK on any of the English I literary. Committees did not think it was
necessary. No quotes for literary; only pictures so far. There are worries about quotes with literary
because you could push kids into an expository piece. We haven’t picked a literary release yet. Kids
are doing well with this writing. We are seeing a mix of fictional or realistic pieces. The genre must
be a story. Poems and scripts are ineligible for testing. Since poetry is so personal, I don’t know
how we could ever apply rubrics consistently. 14B is poetry and 14C is writing a script. The only
student expectation eligible is 14A.
STAAR Writing—What We’ve Learned So Far 13. These are trends across grades and across types of writing during
Trends we noted across grades and courses
during the scoring of the 2011 STAAR field the scoring of the 2001 STAAR field tests. Big issue: form and purpose
tests must match. You are going to organize a personal narrative differently
Form/purpose match. Many students
scored 1s and 2s because their overall than an expository piece. The organizational structure you use is
organizational structure and form did
not match the purpose for writing or dependent on the purpose. 1s and 2s had overall organizational
were weakly matched. Some students structure and form did not match purpose for writing or were weakly
started out in the right form but then
“drifted” into another purpose: matched. In English II and III persuasive, they have to take a position
TAKS personal narrative instead of
expository or persuasive and argue it from a consistent point of view. Can you ―fence‖ it? Yes,
fantasy rather than personal you can say both positions are equally important but all your evidence
narrative
expository rather than persuasive has to point to the fact that you put yourself right in the middle of this.
You have to say why they are equally important. All evidence has to
support argument. It’s not a simple explanation. Evidence has to be convincing. Some kids start out
in the write form and then drift into another purpose such as a TAKS personal narrative instead of
expository or persuasive, fantasy rather than personal narrative, expository rather than persuasive.
What this means is that the organizational structure you use is dependent on your purpose. You
would organize expository differently than a story. Especially at Score Points 1 and 2, many scores
were in that range because their organizational strategy wasn’t matched or weakly matched their
purpose. English II kids just came off TAKS and just wrote a TAKS paper. Kids that wrote started
with a thesis sentence and then drifted right into a TAKS essay.
14. Thesis, controlling/central idea must be present in a focused and
STAAR Writing—What We’ve Learned So Far coherent expository, persuasive, or analytical piece. Personal
Trends we noted across grades and courses narrative/literary pieces also need a narrow focus. I heard that one
consultant is teaching a five paragraph STAAR essay in one page. The
from the 2011 field tests
Thesis. Having a central idea/controlling
idea/thesis is essential in writing a
focused and coherent expository,
consultant has divided the paragraph into 5,5,5,5,6 lines because you
persuasive, or analytical piece. Personal have to have 26 lines. I cannot think of a worse strategy than that. We
narratives/literary pieces also need
narrow focus. have to go the other way. A conversation needs to be had with teachers
The effect of one page. High scores
require an economical use of space:
and administrators about paragraphing in one page. A lot of the 4s we
tight, specific, logical development—no saw had one paragraph. The analytic release will be an excerpt from a
wasted words. Short, effective
introduction and conclusion also a memoir. It has two different paragraphs that they have to read. Each
must. Bottom line: Both planning and paragraph is doing something specific. The higher end of the scorers
revision are absolutely essential since
students don’t have the space to “write wrote two paragraphs—one for the first paragraph and one for the
their way into” a better piece.
second. This is a structure that has common sense. It was a great way
to chunk the analytical essay for that particular piece.
Use of space in one page: high scores require an economical use of space—tight, specific, logical
development, no wasted words. A short and effective introduction and conclusion are also a must.
Kids have to get in and out concisely. If they take a long time to get in and out, they will not have a
body. The have to get in and out effectively. Bottom line: both planning and revision are absolutely
essential. When kids do not plan and revise, no matter the grade level, they do not have space to
write their way into a 3. You could waste most of a page in TAKS and still end up with a 3 in two
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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
pages. If you waste ¾ of your 26 lines on STAAR, you are probably going to get a 1. I could see
kids who were not planning. It was just stream of consciousness, meandering, looping, not logical
or specific, no idea of what is coming next. Then you are outside of that specific, no wasted words,
development. The text booklet prompts take up about ½ a page leaving the bottom and two pages
for prewriting: brainstorming, drafting, revising the first draft before putting it on the lines. Half a
page may get a 3 and a 2/3 page may get a 4. They had depth. We have to get over the issue of
length. If the paper is deep, specific, tight, it can get a 4. Some of these papers will be put in the
mini guides. Teachers may not believe this until they see one with annotation. You have to think of
development differently with one page. We gained a lot by getting a broader view of kids by how
they write with different genres. It tells you something if kids get a 3 on a literary paper but a 1 on
an expository paper. Or if they get a 4/1 or a 4/2. It tells you something about instruction. This is
going to be good.
STAAR Writing—What We’ve Learned So Far 15. Kids who can’t synthesize across the READ, THINK, WRITE in
Trends we noted across grades and courses expository and persuasive—we see it more in these types. Kids had
from the 2011 field tests
Synthesizing across the Read, Think, trouble with expository and persuasive as they tried to move from the
Write. Some students scored 1s and 2s
because they could not move from the stimulus to the think then to the write. They got stuck and go round
stimulus (the “Read”) to the and round in that box. They just restated what was in the box many
generalization (the “Think”) to the
charge (the “Write about”). Students different ways. Teach kids the synthesis process. Going back to the
who did not synthesize information
across the prompt tended to have these persuasive scaffolding where the think is more general than the writing
problems: charge. Sometimes they ignore the WRITE and their response wasn’t
getting stuck in the stimulus
ignoring the charge and writing only quite on task. This may or may not work. Kids should not get stuck in
about the “Think” statement
the synopsis or think and get all the way to the write.
S
y
n
In a Nutshell—Lower Score Range 16. Here are some typical problems no matter what the age or grade.
t
Typical problems we noted in papers falling Some kids evolved from one position to another. He was thinking out
h
e
in the lower score range (1s and 2s)
Wrong organizational structure/form what he thought about the issue. This needs to be done on the planning
s
i
for purpose
Weak, evolving, or nonexistent thesis
page. Work out what you think about the issue or topic during planning.
z
Wasted space: repetition, wordiness, 26 lines is real estate. We are not scoring double lines…stopping at 26
i
n
extraneous details or examples,
looping/meandering, meaningless lines. Let students finish the line if they start it on line 26. Some intros
g
introductions and conclusions
Inclusion of too many different ideas for
and conclusions were way too long for a one page essay.
a
c
1 page
r
General/vague/imprecise use of
o
language or inappropriate tone for
s
purpose
s
Essay poorly crafted
Weak conventions
t
In a Nutshell—Higher Score Range 17. Does it support the rhetorical effectiveness of the piece? The 55556
h
e
Typical strengths we noted in papers falling strategy is not going to work.
in higher score range (3s and 4s) R
Strong match between structure/form e
and purpose a
Explicit thesis d
“Narrow and deep” development—no ,
wasted words or space Think quality
over quantity! T
Introduction and conclusion short but h
effective i
Specific use of language and n
appropriate tone for purpose k
Essay well crafted ,
Strong conventions
W
r
i
t
e
.
S
o
m
e
s
t
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d
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n
t
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CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
What’s Coming 18. There is a new architecture for all of the STAAR Content Resources.
New STAAR Content Resources Webpage Everything about content will be housed in one place. ELL and SpEd will
with
assessed curriculum have links to their own pages. Everything but scoring guides will be up
definitions of readiness and supporting
standards
by September 29. Scoring guides will not be ready until October. We
test blueprints are trying to write longer more helpful annotations about why each
test design schematics
sample reading selections and page is what it is. We want the annotation to teach whoever is reading
questions
sample writing passages and questions
it why the paper is the score that it is. Mini guides will have the rubrics,
writing and reading rubrics three ones, twos, threes, and fours. We are trying to pick three
“mini” scoring guides
different kinds of twos. Not a low, mid or high. There are different ways
Test questions and rubrics posted
th
by September 29 .
to get a score point. Two mini guides per grade or course for the
different genres. Professional develop may be through Project Share
but we’re not sure how to do this. We do not have money like we did for TAKS. We are trying to
find a way to do this without face to face meetings. 1/3 of my staff was riffed. Maybe you could do
cross district training. A repository of some kind. Maybe ELA leadership of different organizations
should tackle this. We have to be creative and find a vehicle.
CONTACT INFORMATION 19. Q&A:
Victoria Young Online testing is only for HS. They can take the test online or on
Director of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies
Assessments paper. Comparability studies have been done. The multiple choice is
Texas Education Agency comparable on line and on paper. But reading and writing online are
512-463-9536
victoria.young@tea.state.tx.us different. They would have a passing standard and look at what is
comparable for paper versus online. Maybe have to get two more
points online since it is harder. We let districts make choices.
Handwriting issues with one page wasn’t an issue. They were not penalized for larger
handwriting.
What if the personal narrative includes expository example? Was the paper mostly narrative or
mostly explaining? We had to create a rule at scoring center: never let scorers ask hypothetical
questions. It depends on how well they write. We never teach the rubric without papers.
Districts should create their own guides with their kids’ papers. You’ve got to learn the rubric
and know it inside and out.
CD question with student images: may have to reuse tests. We do not know if our banks will
support that. It will take a few years to develop a bank. No copying. No disks. That’s really a
shame. We lose a lot with that. We couldn’t find a way around it.
Online writing for English I-III: We do a character count based on 26 lines with small writing.
On the screen they have a little icon on the top right hand part of the screen that fills up with
white to show how much room is left.
Dictionary use: Bilingual dictionaries are OK. General dictionary, thesaurus combination, or
separate, hand held not internet accessible, ESL, and bilingual on all parts of the test. From
grade 6 on up. Can bring own from home. We recommend one dictionary for every three
students but one for every five is required. Dictionaries and thesaurus can be together or
separate.
Only literary and expository have pictures.
Pearson is doing the character count for online writing.
Discussion about literary narrative and personal narrative.
We will add more questions to the Q&A at the end of September.
Students should indent and will they have score lowered. Remember, scoring is not subtractive.
We don’t count off for things. We look at what they can do.
Dictionary translators—will have to take that back to the ELL director at TEA.
Short answers will be in mini guides. Field testing went pretty well. Having trouble with text
evidence from plays, poems and persuasive pieces. Teach students how to do this. In
persuasive, we are asking how well the author is using evidence for this idea? There are more
threes. 4-5% on the field test.
Students should write poetry; shouldn’t limit kids to what is assessed. Students should write
what they read and it helps you write and read better. This is the recursive thing.
Online testing uses scratch paper for planning.
Version 1 (Version 2 will be posted on the CREST website when the prompts are released by TEA) Page 7
CREST September 19, 2011: STAAR Assessment Update from Victoria Young
CREST members will receive version one of the PowerPoint now without prompts and version
two when the prompts are released.
The 4th grade Spanish and English writing results were very similar.
The DBA will have extended time for the day and reading the questions and answer options
aloud.
Version 1 (Version 2 will be posted on the CREST website when the prompts are released by TEA) Page 8
