State Assessment News & Updates

• August 14/15 - out of office for dental surgery 😢 , no access to email
• September 1 - 10 - out of office, no access to email

Campus coordinators for state assessments should be reading the weekly Principals' Newsletter. Additionally, I will send a weekly email most weeks. Please be sure to schedule time to read each weekly email.

If you need to catch up on my weekly email, find links on the Resources page of our PfISD State Assessments website.

Find the archives of the weekly PfISD Principals' Newsletter at this link. If you're not receiving these, ask your principal to get you added to the mailing list.

STAAR campus coordinators should begin planning NOW for Interims (Window 2) for Science & Social Studies.

We'll cover interims in depth at training in September. See you there.

As the campus coordinator for STAAR, you have already marked training dates on your calendar based on the schedule I have shared.

New coordinators for STAAR have been invited to an introduction at the end of August. No registration is necessary for this session.

Registration is now available in Kickup for the following sessions:

• Testhound Intro, Aug. 28
• Interims & TIDE, Sept. 24 & 26
• Accessibility, Oct. 24 & 27
• December STAAR EOC (High Schools only), Oct. 30

TIP: Search "State Assessments" in Kickup to find these sessions.

The day prior to each session, please confirm time and location in Kickup. If you export the event to your calendar, any changes in Kickup will not be reflected in your calendar.

Resources for upcoming trainings as well as other resources for use during each administration are available and periodically updated.

Be sure you have this site bookmarked.

I'm happy to offer 2 options for STAAR scheduled. Option A is intended to meet the needs of campuses who requested a shortened window. Option B is intended to meet the needs of those who asked for more time to ease device management and attendance issues while still minimizing disruptions to instruction. At this time, each campus has selected their STAAR Calendar - Option A or Option B.

Campus test dates for each subject should be placed on the campus calendar and shared with families no later than September 5. Specific test dates for each student will be shared with families no later than February 27.

For all state assessment programs, each student will test on a PfISD managed device. Chromebooks are preferred. Devices used for state assessments should be routinely used in class. No installation is required for Chromebooks, and the Secure Test Browser is accessed as noted on the document linked below.

If additional devices are needed, Windows devices (laptops, desktops) may be used. The campus coordinator is responsible for installing the Secure Test Browser for 2025-2026 on Windows devices. Installation is completed once (according to the instructions below) in the current school year and is effective for all administrations.

✅Each campus coordinator for state assessments is expected to be knowledgeable of all devices, including headphones and headsets, on campus. Routine technology checks throughout the school year are encouraged to ensure all devices are accounted for and in working order.

To support your planning for back to school data digs and access to state assessments results, test items and student responses, please refer to this plan.

Further details and instructions have been shared in recent Principals' Newsletters. Those who have followed the instructions have access to a Campus Coordinator user account in TIDE. Future access is contingent upon completion of trainings that will be shared soon.

As a reminder, TIDE will not be accessible from August 15-25. Further details at the link above.

Staff will use CRS to access state assessment results for students. I've added two groups of students from Skyward into TIDE if they have a TSDS ID assigned in Skyward. The designated campus coordinator is also authorized to add newly enrolled students according to the instructions that have been provided. After the student is added by the campus coordinator, history is available in CRS by changing the reporting time period at the top of the screen. Detailed instructions are available here.

TEA’s Family Portal is only for use by parents/guardians. Staff are not authorized to use TEA’s Family Portal.

Testhound staff will be in Pflugerville ISD to offer live in-person training! Join us.

• August 28, 1-4 - This is intended for new users, but everyone is welcome for a refresher.
• September 30, 9-12 - This is a work session, and in-person help will be provided on request. Use this time to get set up in Testhound for Interims, PSAT or another campus administration. (The work session is full day, but Testhound support staff will be present in the am only.)

Registration will be available soon in Kickup! Check back later.

Upcoming Training Opportunities - Find the link and/or preregister at this link (must be logged in to Testhound).

When logged into Testhound, click "Help" to find more information and links to register or access recordings.

• From "Help", navigate to
• "Register for a Live TestHound Educational Session" or
• "Watch a Recorded Testhound Educational Session.

Upcoming Sessions

• CTC Refresher/Overview - Aug. 27, 10-10:30am
• CTC Alerts, Rooms, Test Administrators - Sept. 3, 10-10:30am
• CTC Setting Up Local Tests/Test Configuration - Sept. 10, 10-10:30am
• Campus Auto Pilot - Sept. 17, 10-10:30
• Campus Exclusions (High School) - Sept. 24, 10-10:30
• Testhound Tune-Ups (live work sessions, bring your questions)
• Mondays, 2:30-3pm
• Thursdays, 9-9:30am

"In a world filled with noise and nonstop notifications, there’s something quietly comforting about picking up a pair of knitting needles or tending to a row of potted herbs. These so-called “grandma hobbies” invite us to slow down, use our hands, and find joy in small moments—a kind of peace that can be hard to come by in the digital age. Best of all, most of these stress-relieving activities are screen-free, offering a much-needed break from constant connectivity."

Share your Grandma Hobby, and look for results coming soon!