DTC Chatter #4

DTCs may choose one date to attend. You are also welcome to bring your campus administrators and CTCs. We are currently offering a limited number of in-person seats. Virtual seats will be capped as well to help with zoom management. We will evaluate our COVID situation as our dates draw nearer. We kindly ask for our virtual attendees to have their cameras turned on during training.

• Click here to register for DTC training on October 20th
  
• Click here to register for DTC training on October 22nd
• Click here to register for DTC training on October 29th

STAAR Interim Assessments, an optional online tool to help educators monitor progress and predict student performance, will continue for the 2020–2021 school year for all STAAR tested grades and subjects. In response to COVID-19, TEA has provided additional support and guidance for districts who would like students to complete an interim assessment at home.

To see recordings of previous webinars, register for upcoming webinars, and view the frequently asked questions, please visit the STAAR Interim Assessments web page.

TEA is launching the TFAR, which is a new, free, optional, online tool consisting of an item bank aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This optional tool is designed to support teachers in gaining real-time, formative feedback on student learning as instruction occurs. Teachers will be able to create and deliver quizzes and analyze results to help inform instructional choices such as making immediate lesson plan adjustments or providing specific interventions for students at the level of individual standards. TFAR can be used as part of on-campus or virtual instruction.

TFAR is meant to supplement and support existing district resources and formative assessment practices. Quizzes built using this tool should be combined with a broader set of classroom formative practices that are part of a coherent instructional framework.

TFAR will be available starting August 31, 2020. Initially, the item bank within TFAR will contain STAAR released items, but, over time, additional items will be added. Teachers will be able to create their own TEKS-aligned items to administer within the platform.

The following training webinars are coming soon. Select the link to register for the training. Webinar information and registration links are also available on the Training webpage.

• The “December 2020 Student Registration Updates” webinar will take place Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CT).
  
• The “Registration for New District Testing Coordinators” webinar will take place Tuesday, September 1, 2020, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CT).
• "Fall Activities for the December 2020 STAAR Administration" Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 1:30-3:00

Campus coordinators must train test administrators who are administering the December STAAR assessments in the fall prior to this administration. It is recommended that test administrators are trained by December 4, 2020.

• Staff Identification (ID) Updates
  
  The window to update TX Unique Staff ID associations for the December 2020 STAAR EOC administration is September 1–25, 2020. Updates to TX Unique Staff IDs must be made directly in the STAAR Assessment Management System either manually or via a file upload. All staff ID updates applied in the system at the close of the window will be reflected in the Teacher Portal on October 7, 2020. See Section 6.1.10 Update Teacher TX Unique Staff ID Association to Test Registration after an Administration in the Assessment Management System User’s Guide for more information.
  

• OOD and OOS Test Site Directory
  
  The out-of-district (OOD) and out-of-school (OOS) Test Site Registration form for the December 2020 administration is now available. Districts must register each participating OOD/OOS test site directly in the Assessment Management System. See Section 4.2 Volunteer Test Sites of the Assessment Management System User’s Guide for more information and detailed instructions.

Answer: Yes, IGC requires the student to have failed not more than two of the tests the student is responsible for passing. Since the student received a waiver for three tests, he/she is now only responsible for two tests. See Assessment Guidance #8C1

Students in grade 5 and 8 will only be required to test for math and reading once regardless of a pass or fail. Student promotion and retention for grades 5 and 8 should be determined just as all other grade levels are determined for the 2020-2021 school year.

Please note, not ALL SSI requirements have been waived.

There are only two pieces that are being waived this year:

1) promotion/retention determination and

2) three administrations.

SSI requirements that still need to be met are:

• End-of-year notice if districts received waiver for delay from 2019–20
• Beginning-of-year notice
• 10-day reporting of students’ results
• Accelerated instruction

The TEA Student Success initiative division now has updated SSI forms for district use. Refer to the email sent by zwilson@esc14.net on 8/20/2020 for attachments.

Texas Education Agency
Student Assessment Division
1701 N. Congress Avenue, Room 3-122A
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: (512) 463-9536
Fax: (512) 463-9302

ETS Customer Service
(STAAR Grades 3–8, EOC, and Interim Assessments):
Phone:(855) 333-7770
Email:
STAAR3-8@ets.org
STAAREOC@ets.org

Pearson's Customer Service Center
(STAAR Alternate 2, TELPAS. and TELPAS Alternate):
Phone: (800) 627-0225
Email: TxPearsonAccess@support.pearson.com

zwilson@esc14.net

325-675-8620

Andie Smith

asmith@esc14.net

325-675-7039

Linda Moran

lmoran@esc14.net

325-675-8635

Pam Loper

ploper@esc14.net

325-675-8633