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Accessibility Features

Accessibility Features

Accessibility features are procedures and materials that should be made available on state assessments to students who regularly use them during classroom instruction. A student may NOT be required to use accessibility features during testing, and there is no need to document their use in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) for test administrations. Accessibility features are available for use on the following assessments:

  • STAAR, including STAAR Spanish

  • TELPAS

Accessibility features with the type of support, description, and examples of what practices are allowed and not allowed are listed in the table below. The examples provided are not meant to represent an exhaustive list.

Assistive Tools: Learning and Cognition Supports

Accessibility Feature

Description

Allowed Examples

Not Allowed Examples

Reading the Test Aloud

All students who use this accessibility feature are allowed to read the test aloud to themselves to facilitate comprehension.

  • A student uses a whisper phone to read the test aloud to himself during an administration.

  • A student records herself reading the test material aloud. The recording is deleted after a test administration.

  • A student in a testing room with other students reads the test loudly enough to distract other testers in the room.

Reading Assistance for STAAR Grade 3 Mathematics

Only students taking STAAR grade 3 mathematics may receive reading assistance.

  • For grade 3 students participating in STAAR mathematics online, a student may have a word, phrase, or sentence in a test question or answer choice read aloud via text-to-speech (TTS). Students in need of this support should be identified prior to the administration so they can become familiar with this tool. TTS should be enabled in TIDE prior to the administration of the test but may be enabled at student request during testing.

  • For grade 3 students participating in a paper administration of STAAR mathematics, a test administrator trained in oral administration may read a word, phrase, or sentence in a test question or answer choice to any grade 3 student but only when asked to do so by the individual student.

  • A test administrator provides reading assistance to a grade 3 student testing online by viewing the math test content on the screen.

  • A test administrator who is not trained in oral administration provides reading assistance to a grade 3 student participating in STAAR mathematics on paper.

Blank Scratch Paper

Any blank medium that can be erased or destroyed may be used as blank scratch paper. If the medium has been manipulated to encourage the use of a specific strategy, then it does not fit the category of scratch paper and would instead be considered a blank graphic organizer.

NOTE: All students taking a STAAR mathematics assessment must be provided blank scratch paper.

  • A student uses a blank dry erase board or other erasable surface, such as a computer monitor, during a test administration to draw, write, and perform calculations.

  • A student uses patty paper, blank note cards (lined or unlined), sticky notes, or standard graph paper during a mathematics test administration.

  • A student uses standard lined paper during a reading language arts (RLA) test administration.

  • A student uses blank scratch paper during a TELPAS administration.

  • A student uses paper with prenumbered boxes.

  • A student is provided graph paper with axes already indicated on it.

  • A student uses paper that is sectioned off into boxes or other shapes, such as a blank graphic organizer.

  • A student uses paper that has symbols, color indicators, or words on it.

 

Embedded Sticky Notes Tool

The embedded sticky notes tool allows a student to add notes about a test question in the online test. A sticky note is accessed from the question where it was created.

A student leaves a test question unanswered and uses the sticky notes tool to make notes about the question for later use.

A student uses the sticky notes tool for notes that he wants to access on later test questions.

Embedded Notepad Tool

The notepad tool allows a student to write notes that can be accessed from any page in the online test.

A student uses the notepad tool to write down things she wants to remember throughout the test.

A student uses the notepad tool to write her constructed response but does not transfer the response to the actual question.

Assistive Technology: Hearing Supports

Accessibility Feature