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A student who uses this designated support may need to complete the test in a separate setting to eliminate distractions to other students and to ensure test confidentiality.
The use of spelling assistance as a designated support on STAAR should not replace the teaching of spelling skills as outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
Dictionaries are a required part of standard test administration procedures for some state assessments. For more information, refer to the STAAR Dictionary Policy. For these assessments, any spelling assistance listed in the "Examples and Types" section may be provided, along with the required dictionary, to a student who is determined to be eligible.
To become familiar with the functionality of online tests, students should practice using the tools in the Practice Test Site before online operational assessments. Teachers should also familiarize themselves with the tool to ensure its appropriateness for each student.
For students eligible for speech-to-text, the student’s attributes in TIDE must first be set to indicate STT for this support to be accessed in the practice environment. The student must log in using his or her TSDS.
If an eligible student does not use the embedded spell check or word prediction during testing, do not register the student for the embedded spell check or word prediction test attribute in TIDE. Spelling assistance for state assessments is limited to the types listed in this policy document. If the student uses a non-embedded spell check or word prediction software or other approved spelling assistance support, this should be indicated in the STAAR Non-Embedded Supports field in the Non-Embedded Supports panel in TIDE.
Students with a visual impairment who also require spelling assistance for constructed response questions may access TTS software via permissive mode or secondary device.
If students need their responses entered into the online testing platform by a trained staff member, refer to the Basic Transcribing policy.
Districts are required to have procedures in place to prevent the use of personal cell phones and electronic devices during test administrations. If a student uses TEA-approved technology-based accommodations during testing, TEA guidelines on the use of this technology must be followed in order to maintain the security and validity of the assessment. Although some technology may be very useful during a daily academic setting, technology that has functionality that violates the Technology Guidelines cannot be used during a state assessment.
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