KISD Secondary Science Newsletter

Scientific & Engineering Practice 1F — Vertical Alignment

The full TEA TEKS In Focus document is attached for your reference.

TEA's TEKS In Focus recently highlighted Practice 1F: Collecting and Organizing Observations and Measurements, reminding us that data representation is a skill that builds intentionally from Kindergarten all the way through high school. Here's what this means for our science classrooms:

Middle School (Grades 6–8)

By the time students reach 6th grade, they should be constructing bar graphs, frequency tables, scatter plots, dot plots, and histograms. By the end of 6th grade — and continuing through 8th — they are expected to work with circle graphs and bar graphs with percentages. Graph and table choice should always be driven by the investigation, not habit. One key expectation worth reinforcing: repeated trials aren't optional. Students should understand that inconsistent data across trials signals a weakness in the data collection method — and by the end of Grade 6, they are expected to average data across trials, not just collect it.

High School (Biology, Chemistry, IPC, Physics)

Each course has its own data representation toolkit — and that's intentional. A few highlights:

• Biology → scatter plots, line graphs, digital tools, student-prepared models
• Chemistry → lab reports, particle diagrams, technology-based reports
• IPC → labeled drawings, diagrams, graphic organizers
• Physics → bar charts, scatter plots, conceptual mathematical relationships

Students should be selecting the right tool for the data — not defaulting to whatever is most familiar.

A Concept Worth Revisiting Across ALL Grade Levels

Accuracy ≠ Precision. The TEKS Guide makes this distinction explicit for Grades 6–12:

• Accuracy = how close results are to the true or known value
• Precision = how close results are to each other

This is a concept that should be explicitly taught — not just mentioned — and revisited across grade levels. If students are using significant figures correctly, they are already communicating accuracy and precision implicitly in their data.

Did you know that standard-setting is based, to a large degree, on the judgment of educators? A committee composed of Texas teachers, instructional coaches, content specialists, and administrators meets to help shape the assessments our students take — and you can be part of that process.

By serving on a TEA assessment committee, you can make a real impact in the following roles:

• Passage Review — Reviewing Reading Language Arts (RLA) test passages
• Item Review — Reviewing and approving potential test questions
• Constructed Response Anchor Approval — Setting scoring boundaries for constructed responses
• Subject-Area Advisory Group — Providing feedback on subject-area-specific topics
• Standard-Setting — Establishing cut scores that define student performance levels

👉 To sign up or learn more, visit TexasAssessment.gov or go to https://bit.ly/406DvwE

This is a meaningful way to represent KISD and have a direct voice in Texas assessment development. We encourage you to get involved!

STAAR review season is most effective when it is intentional, data-informed, and student-centered. Rather than reviewing everything, the goal is to review the right things, in the right way, at the right time. The following strategies are designed to help you move from benchmark data to a focused, manageable review plan that maximizes student growth in the weeks leading up to STAAR.

Step 1: Start with Your Benchmark Data

Before planning a single review lesson, spend time analyzing what your benchmark data is actually telling you. Look beyond overall class averages and dig into performance by TEKS, by student group, and by question type. Ask yourself:

• Which TEKS had the lowest class-wide performance?
• Are there specific student groups who struggled on particular standards?
• Were there questions with high omission rates — which may signal time management issues rather than content gaps?
• Which standards appeared in multiple questions, and did performance improve or stay flat?

This analysis becomes the foundation for everything that follows. Without it, review becomes a reteach of everything — which serves no one well.

Benchmark Data Analysis Checklist:

• Pulled item-level data by TEKS for each class period
• Identified the top 3–5 priority TEKS based on lowest performance
• Noted which student groups need targeted support on which standards
• Flagged high-omission items for time management follow-up
• Shared data findings with your team or instructional coach

Step 2: Build a Spiral Review Routine

Once you know your priority standards, build a spiral review structure into your daily instruction rather than saving all review for the final weeks before the test. Spiral review works best when it is consistent, brief, and purposeful.

Consider embedding 5–10 minutes of daily review using STAAR-formatted questions tied to previously taught TEKS. Rotate through your priority standards across the week so students encounter each one multiple times in different contexts. This repeated exposure — spaced over time — builds retrieval strength far more effectively than a single review day.

Spiral review also creates a natural opportunity to revisit vocabulary, scientific reasoning, and data interpretation skills alongside content — all of which are heavily tested on STAAR.

Spiral Review Planning Checklist:

• Identified 3–5 priority TEKS to rotate through weekly
• Selected or created STAAR-formatted review questions for each standard
• Built a weekly rotation schedule for warm-ups or bell ringers
• Varied question formats (multiple choice, text entry, drag and drop, multiselect) across the week
• Incorporated graphs, data tables, or diagrams into at least 2 review items per week

Step 3: Build Test-Taking Strategies & Stamina

Content knowledge alone does not guarantee STAAR performance. Students also need explicit instruction in how to approach the test — how to manage their time, eliminate wrong answers, interpret complex stems, and maintain focus across an extended testing session.

Incorporate these practices regularly leading up to STAAR rather than introducing them the week of the test:

• Timed practice sets — Give students 10–15 questions under timed conditions to build pacing awareness. Debrief together on time usage and question-skipping strategies.
• Annotating the question — Teach students to underline the question stem, circle key scientific terms, and bracket what the question is actually asking before reading the answer choices.
• Process of elimination — Practice ruling out obviously incorrect distractors first, especially on questions with unfamiliar vocabulary.
• Stamina building — Gradually increase the length of practice sets over several weeks so students are not fatigued by the pace and length of the actual test.

Test-Taking Strategies Checklist:

• Introduced and modeled at least 2 test-taking strategies explicitly
• Conducted at least one timed practice session with a debrief
• Taught students how to annotate and break down complex question stems
• Addressed common science-specific distractors (e.g., partially correct answers, flipped cause/effect)
• Discussed time management — how long to spend per question and when to move on

Step 4: Activate Student Ownership Through Self-Assessment & Goal Setting

One of the most powerful — and often overlooked — components of STAAR review is helping students understand their own data and set meaningful goals. When students know which standards they have mastered and which ones need more work, they become active participants in their own preparation rather than passive recipients of review content.

Consider building in a short self-assessment cycle after each benchmark or practice set. Students can review their own results, categorize standards as "Got It / Almost / Need Help," and set a specific focus goal for the next review cycle. This process builds metacognitive awareness and gives students a sense of agency heading into the test.

Student Self-Assessment Checklist:

• Returned benchmark results to students with TEKS-level feedback (not just a score)
• Provided a student-friendly list of priority TEKS in accessible language
• Facilitated a structured self-assessment activity (e.g., "Got It / Almost / Need Help" sort)
• Had students set at least one specific, measurable review goal
• Revisited goals at least once before STAAR to reflect on progress

STAAR season can feel like a sprint to the finish line, but it is important to pause and remember what is already true: your students have been learning all year. Every lab they completed, every question they wrestled with, every concept they connected — it all counts. The test is simply one moment to show what they know, and they are more prepared than they may feel in this moment.

To you wonderful science teachers: what you do every day is extraordinary. You translate complex, abstract concepts into meaningful learning experiences. You meet students where they are, push them toward where they need to be, and do it all with professionalism and dedication. STAAR review is not a reflection of what you failed to teach — it is the final chapter of everything you have already built together.

As you move into these final weeks, hold onto these reminders:

"Progress, not perfection." Every student who walks into that testing room knowing one more thing than they knew before is a win worth celebrating.

"You cannot pour from an empty cup." Take care of yourself so you can show up fully for your students. Rest matters. Encouragement matters. You matter.

"The data tells a story — but it does not tell the whole story." Your students are more than a score, and so is your teaching.

By creating a visual web of knowledge, students can demonstrate what connections they have already made about a topic — and where they might need additional clarification and support. Hexagonal Thinking is a powerful strategy for activating prior knowledge and making student thinking visible.

Each hexagon contains a concept, term, or idea. Students arrange and connect the hexagons based on relationships they identify, building a web that reveals the depth and breadth of their understanding. It's flexible, collaborative, and works beautifully as a pre-assessment, review, or synthesis tool across all science content areas.

Watch this short video introduction to get started!

Science Examples for Your Classroom: See how hexagonal thinking can be applied across grade levels and content areas with the examples below:

TEKS Guide for Science by TEA

Free printable RTC posters by TEA

RTC Question Prompts by TEA

Texas Gateway by TEA

K-12 Scientific and Engineering Practices and Recurring Themes and Concepts Vertical Alignment (Excel)

K-12 Biology Vertical Alignment (PDF)

K-12 Earth and Space Science Vertical Alignment (PDF)

K-12 Chemistry Vertical Alignment (PDF)

K-12 Physics Vertical Alignment (PDF)

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Hello, I am Sandra Marcussen the District Instructional Specialist for Secondary Science. I'm excited to help you in any way that you need. You can reach me at sandra.marcussen@killeenisd.org, text at 254-371-9692 or call my desk phone at 254-336-0300.