STAAR assessments are administered as online tests. When a student is unable to access the online assessment due to a need documented in his or her admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) or 504 paperwork or because of a technology restriction, the student will take a STAAR paper assessment. In this case, the student records his or her responses in the test booklet and an authorized district staff member enters and submits the student’s responses into the Data Entry Interface (DEI) to be scored.
Authorized district staff members must receive training in test security and administration procedures as well as specific training related to entering student responses into DEI. The authorized staff member must record the student’s responses verbatim. Tampering with, adjusting, or changing student responses in any way is strictly prohibited and is a serious testing violation. As a reminder of this obligation, the authorized staff member is required to complete a specific part of an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality before he or she is permitted to enter student responses into DEI. In addition, the authorized staff member will be viewing secure test content in the student’s test booklet. Discussing, scoring, duplicating, recording, or electronically capturing confidential test content is prohibited and constitutes a serious testing violation.
General Guidelines for Entering Student Responses into DEI
Below are general guidelines for entering student responses from a STAAR test booklet into DEI.
Enter the student’s responses verbatim.
Do NOT tamper with, adjust, or change the student’s responses in any way.
Do NOT interpret or infer a student’s response.
Leave the item blank in DEI if you cannot determine what the student’s response is.
Leave the item blank in DEI if the student leaves the question unanswered.
Specific Guidelines for Entering Student Responses by Item Type
Below are specific guidelines for entering student responses from a STAAR test booklet into DEI based on item type.
Multiple-choice Items
Multiple-choice items ask the student to select the best answer from a set of four answer options.
The authorized staff member must enter the answer the student marked in the test booklet.
If more than one answer is marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of a Multiple-choice Item on the Paper Test
Multiselect Items
Multiselect items ask the student to select more than one correct answer from a set of five or more answer options. The directions included with the item indicate how many answers the student should select.
The authorized staff member must enter the answers the student marked in the test booklet. Note that DEI will allow the authorized staff member to enter only the target number of answers asked for in the item directions. For example, if the directions say “Select the TWO correct answers,” the authorized staff member can enter a maximum of two answers.
If more than the target number of answers are marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
If fewer than the target number of answers are marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must enter only the answers the student marked in the test booklet.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of a Multiselect Item on the Paper Test
Hot Text Items
Hot text items ask students to cite evidence by selecting specific text in a sentence, paragraph, or passage. These items may ask students to select one or more parts of the text.
The authorized staff member must enter the answers the student marked in the test booklet. Note that DEI will allow the authorized staff member to enter only the target number of answers asked for in the item directions. For example, if the directions say “Select only TWO correct answers,” the authorized staff member can enter a maximum of two answers.
If more than the target number of answers are marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
If fewer than the target number of answers are marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must enter only the answers the student marked in the test booklet.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of Hot Text Item on the Paper Test
Hot Spot Items
Hot spot items ask students to respond by selecting one or more specific areas of a graphic.
The authorized staff member must enter the answers the student marked in the test booklet. Note that DEI will allow the authorized staff member to enter only the target number of answers asked for in the item directions. For example, if the directions say “Select THREE correct answers,” the authorized staff member can enter a maximum of three answers.
If more than the target number of answers are marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
If fewer than the target number of answers are marked in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must enter only the answers the student marked in the test booklet.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of Hot Spot Item on the Paper Test
Multipart Items
Multipart items ask the student to respond to a two-part question. Each part of the question is scored separately.
The authorized staff member must enter the answer the student marked in the test booklet for both part A and part B.
If more than one answer is marked in the test booklet for part A or part B, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
If the student left part A or part B unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
Example of a Multipart Item on the Paper Test
Inline Choice Items
Inline choice items ask students to select the best answer from one or more drop-down menu(s) to complete one or more sentences.
The authorized staff member must enter the answer the student marked in the test booklet for each part of the item.
If more than one answer is marked in the test booklet for a specific part, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
If the student left any part unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
Example of an Inline Choice Item on the Paper Test
Drag and Drop Items
Drag and drop items ask students to evaluate a given number of options (words, numbers, symbols, etc.) and select which option belongs in a given area (diagram, map, chart, etc.).
The authorized staff member must enter the answer the student marked in the test booklet for each part of the item.
If more than one answer is marked in the test booklet for a specific part, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
If the student left any part unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
Example of a Drag and Drop Item on the Paper Test
Match Table Grid Items
Match table grid items ask students to match statements or objects to different categories presented in a table grid.
The authorized staff member must enter the answer the student marked in the test booklet for each part of the item.
If more than one answer is marked in the test booklet for a specific part, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
If the student left any part unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave that part blank in DEI.
Example of a Match Table Grid Item on the Paper Test
Text Entry Items
Text entry items ask students to write a brief string of text such as a number, word, or phrase. The students’ responses are written on the blank line(s) provided with the item.
The authorized staff member must enter exactly what the student wrote on the lines in the test booklet, including any errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar, and usage.
If a number, word, or phrase that the student wrote is indecipherable, the authorized staff member must skip that part of the student’s response.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of a Text Entry Item on the Paper Test
Short Constructed-response and Extended Constructed-response Items
Short constructed-response items ask students to write a brief explanation, and extended constructed-response items ask students to write a more in-depth response. The students’ responses are written on the blank lines provided with the item.
The authorized staff member must enter exactly what the student wrote on the lines in the test booklet, including any errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, grammar, and usage.
If a number, word, or phrase that the student wrote is indecipherable, the authorized staff member must skip that part of the student’s response.
If the student's response exceeds the allowed character count in the DEI text box, the authorized staff member must enter as much as possible of the student's response up to the character count limit for the text box.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of a Short Constructed-response Item on the Paper Test
Equation Editor Items
Equation editor items ask students to write a mathematical response in the form of a fraction, expression, equation, or inequality. The students’ responses are written in a box provided with the item.
The authorized staff member must enter exactly what the student wrote in the box in the test booklet.
If a number or symbol that the student wrote is indecipherable, the authorized staff member must skip that part of the student’s response.
If the student’s response includes words, pictures, or something other than a fraction, expression, equation, or inequality, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
If the student left the item unanswered in the test booklet, the authorized staff member must leave the item blank in DEI.
Example of an Equation Editor Item on the Paper Test
