Overview

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) Alternate 2 fulfills federal requirements of both the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). ESSA requires that all students be assessed in specific grades and subjects throughout their academic career, whereas IDEA requires that students with disabilities have access to the same standards as their non-disabled peers and be included in statewide assessments.

STAAR Alternate 2 is a standardized, item-based assessment administered individually to each eligible student enrolled in grades 3–8 and specific high school courses.

Students with a significant cognitive disability who

• exhibit significant intellectual and adaptive behavior deficits in their ability to plan, comprehend, and reason, and ALSO indicate adaptive behavior deficits that limit their ability to apply social and practical skills such as personal care, social problem-solving skills, dressing, eating, using money, and other functional skills across life domains; 

• are NOT identified based on English learner designation or solely on the basis of previous low academic achievement or the need for (specialized) accommodations; and

• require extensive, direct, individualized instruction, as well as a need for substantial supports that are neither temporary nor specific to a particular content area.

Eligible testers participate in the same grades and subjects as STAAR:

• Grades 3, 4, 6, and 7: mathematics and reading

• Grade 5: mathematics, reading, and science

• Grade 8: mathematics, reading, science, and social studies

• EOC: Algebra I, English I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History 

           *EOC eligible testers are those currently enrolled in part B of the corresponding course