TEA has developed the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment 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. TEA designed the STAAR Alternate 2 to assess students in grades 3–8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.

STAAR ALT 2 ASSESSMENTS INCLUDE: (download the Performance Level Descriptors and/or Essence Statements in PDF format below)

• ENGLISH I - Performance Level Descriptors & Essence Statements

• ALGEBRA - Performance Level Descriptors & Essence Statements

• BIOLOGY - Performance Level Descriptors & Essence Statements

• ENGLISH II - Performance Level Descriptors & Essence Statements

• US HISTORY - Performance Level Descriptors & Essence Statements

STAAR ALT 2 PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS (SPANISH VERS)

The Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee determines whether a student with a significant cognitive disability is eligible to take STAAR Alternate 2 based on the following criteria.

Step I: Review the Eligibility Criteria for STAAR Alternate 2

Prior to reviewing the eligibility criteria for STAAR Alternate 2, the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee must understand all assessment options, including the characteristics of each assessment and the potential implications of each assessment choice. According to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §101.27(b), school districts are required to follow the procedures specified in the applicable test administration materials. As a result, the ARD committee must use this form to document its assessment decisions. If STAAR Alternate 2 is being considered, the ARD committee must review the four criteria below and select Yes or No if applicable to the student. To be eligible to participate in STAAR Alternate 2, the answer to all four of the questions below must be Yes. If the answer to any of the questions is No, the student is not eligible to participate in STAAR Alternate 2 and must participate in one of the other statewide assessments. Each Yes answer requires a justification that contains evidence that the student meets the criterion.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Does the student have a significant cognitive disability?

• Does the student require specialized, extensive supports to access the grade-level curriculum and environment?

• Does the student require intensive, individualized instruction in a variety of instructional settings?

• Does the student access and participate in the grade-level TEKS through prerequisite skills?

• Is the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment determination based on the student’s significant cognitive disability and NOT on any other factors?

Step II: Discuss Assurances

If Yes is indicated for all four eligibility criteria, the ARD committee must discuss the following assurances. All of these assurances must be initialed by district personnel in order for the student to participate in STAAR Alternate 2.

Assurances:

• Under 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §300.320(a)(6) and 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC)§89.1055, if the ARD committee determines that the student will take STAAR Alternate 2, the IEP must provide a statement of why the student cannot participate in the general assessment (STAAR) with or without allowable accommodations, and why the alternate assessment is appropriate for the student, including that all of the eligibility criteria are met.

• The decision to administer STAAR Alternate 2 is based on multiple sources of measurable, objective evidence, including (but not limited to) current IEP PLAAFP statements, goals and/or objectives, report cards, progress reports, work samples, teacher observations, Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE), standardized achievement test results, and classroom, district, and statewide assessment results. This decision is not based solely on the student’s previous performance on a statewide assessment.

• The decision to administer STAAR Alternate 2 is made by the ARD committee, not administratively based on federal accountability requirements which limit the number of students taking an alternate assessment who can be counted as proficient in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) performance calculations. Although STAAR Alternate 2 is intended for a small number of students, the proficiency cap does not limit the number of students receiving special education services who may take the alternate assessment.

• The decision to administer STAAR Alternate 2 is based on the student’s educational need and the instruction the student is receiving. This decision is not based solely on the student’s disability category and is not based on the student’s racial or economic background, excessive or extended absences, or amount of time or location of service delivery.

If a student has a severe medical condition or a cognitive impairment that prevents him or her from completing the assessment, the student will not be required to complete the assessment and an alternate score code may be used. ARD committees should use the eligibility requirement documents to determine if a student’s assessment can be coded as a Medical Exception or as No Authentic Academic Response (NAAR).

STAAR ALT 2 MEDICAL EXCEPTION ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS (SPANISH VER)

Students who are medically fragile and cannot attend to or tolerate any academic interaction can qualify for a medical exception for the following circumstances:

■ The student is in the final stages of a terminal or degenerative illness.

■ The student is receiving extensive short-term treatment due to a medical emergency or serious injury in an accident.

■ The student is unable to interact with peers or staff without risk of infection or contamination to him/herself or others.

■ The student is receiving non-academic homebound services due to medical issues and does not receive academic instruction.

STAAR ALT 2 NO AUTHENTIC ACADEMIC RESPONSE (NAAR) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS (SPANISH VER)

Students who are not able to respond authentically to any verbal, visual, or tactile stimuli during academic instruction due to level of cognition rather than a medical condition can qualify for a NAAR exception for the following circumstances:

■ The student does not show any observable reaction to a specific stimuli.

■ The student exhibits only startle responses.

■ The student tracks or fixates on objects at random and not for a purpose.

■ The student moves or responds only to internal stimuli.

■ The student vocalizes intermittently regardless of changes in the surrounding environment.

■ The student with multiple impairments is unable to receive any visual, auditory, or tactile information during the assessment.

On the STAAR Alternate 2 test, each question measures a targeted prerequisite skill. Each essence statement has four questions that form a cluster and test a common skill or concept at varying levels of difficulty. Six clusters comprise a test form resulting in 24 questions per test. The question clusters have the following characteristics:

■ The range of abilities of students taking the assessment is factored in across all questions within a cluster.

■ The four questions are scaffolded based on the grade level of the prerequisite skill, the difficulty of the skill, and what the student is being asked to do.

■ Each of the question types within a cluster vary in difficulty from question to question and essence statement to essence statement.

■ The first question is always the easiest of the four questions in a cluster, moving to the last and most cognitively complex question.

■ The cluster design requires the student to make six concept transitions throughout the test.

2016 RELEASED TESTS

• ENGLISH I - TEACHER FORM & STUDENT FORM

• ALGEBRA - TEACHER FORM & STUDENT FORM

• BIOLOGY - TEACHER FORM & STUDENT FORM

• ENGLISH II - TEACHER FORM & STUDENT FORM

• US HISTORY - TEACHER FORM & STUDENT FORM

During a STAAR Alternate 2 test administration, a student may respond using the appropriate mode of communication at the time of testing. Student responses may be verbal, physical, or visual. The critical issue is not how the student responds but that the student clearly communicates the preferred answer choice to the test administrator.

Verbal Responses

• stating responses, including word approximations;

• communicating yes or no when presented answer choices one at a time and being asked, “Is this the ….?”;

• forming responses with the assistance of a communication device with preprogrammed answer choices or programmed student vocabulary;

• use of output device to indicate the answer when each answer choice is presented individually;

• vocalizing positively or negatively to indicate the answer when each answer choice is presented individually;

• making a negative vocalization to indicate unmatched object;

• describing the location of the answer; or

• responding A, B, C, or 1, 2, 3, or with color name if answer choices are labeled as such by the test administrator.

Physical Responses

• pointing to, reaching for, or touching an answer;

• highlighting, coloring, circling, or marking a response;

• nodding head, smiling, or gesturing to indicate yes or no when presented answer choices one at a time and being asked, “Is this the…?”;

• manipulating words, sentences, or sections of recreated answer choice;

• using calculators, manipulatives, or math tools (fraction pieces, geometric shapes, number lines, counting charts, money, base-ten blocks, counters) to arrive at and display an answer;

• writing or typing responses with or without the use of adaptive writing equipment;

• signing an answer;

• formulating a response using a choice board;

• isolating answer choices in a section organizer, such as a calendar box or tub;

• nodding head or gesturing in the direction of the answer; or

• placing a flag on the answer.

Visual Responses

• gazing, blinking, winking, or fixating on answer choice.

In addition to providing evidence that all participation requirements have been met and the assurances have been addressed, the ARD committee will determine and document the needed accommodations for both instruction and assessment.

Allowable Accommodations

• Color or highlight images or text

• Place color overlays on images or text

• Pair images or text with photographs, picture representations, or real objects of the same content

• photographs, pictures, or real objects must be as close to the original as possible

• Attach textured materials to images or text

• Demonstrate concepts or relationships in images or text

• Raise or darken the outline in images or text

• Enlarge images or text

• magnification devices, photocopying, or computer magnification programs can be used

• Add braille labels to images or provide text in braille

• Describe images for students with visual impairments

• descriptions of images can only include details of what can be seen in the images without comments about the overall impression of the image

• Provide images or text on separate paper presented one at a time

• images must be presented in the same order or configuration as they appear in the test booklet

• Cover or isolate images or text until addressed

• Use routine picture representations for key words in verbal directions to the student

• only what is visually presented, stated in text, or supplied in the test administrator instructions can be provided

• Use calculator, manipulatives, or math tools to arrive at response

• fraction pieces, geometric shapes, number lines, number charts, money, base-ten blocks, counters

• Reread sections of the text

• Follow the guidelines in the “Presentation Instructions” section of the Test Administrator Manual for guidance on repeating presentation instructions and rereading sections of the text.

• Provide structured reminders

• personal timers, token systems, color-coded or handwritten reminders, or visual schedules