STAAR™ Alternate Resources

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The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has developed the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Alternate (STAAR™ Alternate) to meet the federal requirements mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), a federal education law previously known as No Child Left Behind. STAAR Alternate is designed for the purpose of assessing students in grades 3–8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.

Documents housed on this website are subject to updates and revisions. The date shown on each document will indicate when the document was last revised. If the documents are printed for use, please check to make sure you are referencing the most current version.

Use the following links to go directly to the selected STAAR Alternate information:

Note that some links include bullets below them that list the contents available at that link but are not links themselves.
Many of the files on this website are in PDF and will open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. For answers to the most
frequently asked questions about downloading, viewing, or printing from PDF files may be obtained from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/pdf-help/

Assessment Tasks

About the Standardized Assessment Tasks
Interpreting An Assessment Task

Complexity Levels

Clarifying Components of Complexity Level

Cueing and Prompting
- Refresher Course for Cueing and Prompting
- Hierarchy
- Clarification of Support vs. Cueing/Prompting Terms
- Assisting Students Performing Tasks
Documentation Forms
- Guidelines for Completion
- Sample Completed Documentation Forms
Essence Statements (posted 04/05/13)
FAQs (PDF posted 10/19/12)
Flowcharts
- Alignment of the Assessment Tasks
- Implementing the Assessment
- Evaluating Student Performance
Generalization

Process for Generalization of Skill
Change in Materials from Primary to Generalization

Glossary (PDF posted 12/18/12)
Grade-Appropriate Texts
- Guidelines for Choosing Grade-Appropriate Texts
- Grade-Appropriate Texts (PowerPoint)
Interrater Study Checklist (PDF posted 01/24/13)

Manuals
- STAAR Alternate Manual for District and Campus Coordinators
- STAAR Alternate Manual for Test Administrators (Teachers)
Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality for STAAR Alternate Test Administrator (PDF, 418 KB, updated 06/07/12)

Parent Training Materials
- Sample STAAR Alternate Confidential Student Report (English and Spanish)
- Parent Brochure for Grades 3-8 (English and Spanish)
- PowerPoint: STAAR Alternate Reporting Information for Parents (English and Spanish)
Participation Requirements
- 2013-2014 Participation Requirements
- ARD Process for STAAR Alternate (PowerPoint)
- Assessment Decision Process
- Student Characteristics for the STAAR Alternate Complexity Levels
- Process for Selecting the Most Appropriate Complexity Level
- Selecting the Most Appropriate Assessment Task (PowerPoint)
- ARD Guide for Determining High School STAAR Alternate Assessments

Presentation Supports and Materials
- Presentation Supports and Materials
- Task Specific Change in Materials/Approach
Scoring Rubric
- STAAR Alternate Scoring Rubric
Standard Setting Information

STAAR Alternate Performance Labels and Policy Definitions
STAAR Alternate Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs)
Conversion Table
Standard Setting Questions and Answers
Standard Setting Technical Report

Test Administration

List of Resources
STAAR Alternate Test Administrator Checklist
STAAR Alternate Testing Coordinator Checklist
Self-Monitoring Questions for the
STAAR Alternate Assessment
Teacher Tracking Tool

TEKS Curriculum Frameworks
TEKS Vertical Alignments
Template for Planning
- Template for Planning Assessment Tasks
- Directions for Using the Template for Planning
- Using the Template for Planning (PowerPoint)
- Level 3 Example of Template for Planning
- Level 2 Example of Template for Planning
- Level 1 Example of Template for Planning
Timeline (PDF updated 03/27/13)
TETNs and Conference Presentations
Training Modules Required for STAAR Alternate

TrainingCenter User's Guide for District and Campus Coordinators
TrainingCenter User's Guide for Test Administrators (Teachers)
Supplemental Training Support Flowchart
Supervision Guidelines for the Content in the Modules (PDF posted 09/28/12)

Verb Documents
- Ways to Demonstrate the Verbs Used in the Assessment Tasks
- Comparison of Verbs Across Complexity Levels
Who to Contact

For additional information, contact:

Student Assessment Division
(512) 463-9536
staaralt@tea.state.tx.us

Page last modified on 4/8/2013.