General

1. What testing requirements exist regarding state assessments?

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR^®), STAAR Alternate 2, and Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) assessments are required by state law to be offered by school systems. State law also requires that students enrolled in Texas public school districts or open-enrollment charter schools, including virtual schools, take the assessments. Refer to Texas Education Code (TEC) §39.023 and §39.027.

Additionally, STAAR, STAAR Alternate 2, TELPAS, and TELPAS Alternate fulfill federal assessment and accountability requirements as established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Federal law requires that all students be assessed in mathematics and reading or language arts annually in grades 3–8 and once in high school. Refer to ESSA Section §1111(b)(2)(B). Federal law also requires emergent bilingual (EB) students to be assessed annually in English language proficiency.

More information on these requirements is available in the State and Federal Required Tests Fact Sheet.

2. What alternative testing locations may be used for the Texas Assessment Program?

District testing personnel may set up alternative testing sites at locations other than the home campus, such as performing arts centers, recreational centers, students’ homes, or any other site supervised by a trained test administrator where testing personnel can ensure equitable access and maintain test security. All of the following test administration guidelines must be followed at any testing site:

• There must be at least one trained test administrator for every 30 students. 

• Sufficient time to complete the assessment must be ensured for every student.

• Sufficient internet bandwidth must be ensured for all students.

3. Who can be a test administrator for the Texas Assessment Program?

Any district staff member holding valid teaching credentials (e.g., a Texas educator certificate or permit) may serve as a test administrator. Staff members who do not hold valid teaching credentials may serve as test administrators if they are supervised by a district staff member who holds valid teaching credentials. Refer to Designate Test Administrators on the Campus Coordinator Training Activities page for more information. All district and campus personnel who participate in state-required testing or who handle or have access to secure test materials must be trained in test security and administration procedures and must sign an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality. 

4. When is the secure browser required for testing?

The secure browser is required for summative or state-required assessments. District testing personnel can administer practice and interim assessments using the secure browser or a supported web browser. For more information about supported browsers and system requirements, refer to the Technology Resources page on the Texas Assessment website.

5. Are students who meet the eligibility criteria for a special paper administration of STAAR included in the three percent calculation for a paper by request administration?

The three percent calculation represents a fraction in which the numerator consists of only those students in the district who will receive a paper by request administration of a specific STAAR assessment (such as the STAAR grade 3 mathematics assessment) and the denominator consists of all eligible students in the district who are scheduled to be administered that same assessment, including those students who meet the eligibility criteria for a special paper administration of the assessment. The total number of paper testers in a district will be the number of students who take a special paper administration in addition to the number of students who take a paper by request administration (the three percent) in addition to the number of students who take a special paper administration. Refer to the Paper by Request Administration page for more information.

6. What happens to the paper test materials if a student who was marked to receive a paper by request administration of STAAR moves to another district before the testing window?

• If the student moves to a new district that is participating in the optional paper by request process and that has not met its maximum three percent, the student may ask for a paper by request administration in the new district. Testing personnel in the receiving district should obtain the paper test materials from the sending district or order them during the additional orders window.

• If the student moves to a new district that has met its maximum three percent, the student will not be able to take a paper by request administration.

• If the student moves to a new district that is not participating in the optional paper by request process, the student will not be able to take a paper by request administration.

7. How do district testing personnel monitor test administrations based on the rules for school safety?

The rules for school safety indicate that exterior doors must be locked unless they are in a secure exterior area. Exterior classroom doors that are required to be locked must also have a means (windows, cameras, or intercoms) to allow someone inside the classroom to identify any individual seeking to enter the classroom.

Individuals (educators or students) who need to enter a classroom during testing may gain access to a locked exterior classroom door:

• by using a security badge for electronic locks,

• by using a master key, or

• after identification from the test administrator within the classroom.

8. How often are the reports available through the Monitoring Test Progress module in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) updated?

Test Completion Rates and Test Progress Summary reports are updated nightly.

Information on the following pages is updated in near real time:

• Plan and Manage Testing

• Search Students by TSDS ID

• Test Status Code Report

• Test Session Status Report

Test opportunities that have been started by an individual student will also be displayed in the Student Participation panel in the student’s individual record in TIDE. The assessment name, session ID, and test status are available for each testing opportunity a student has started or completed.

If the test administrator is using a live proctored session, the information on the Test Administrator Interface dashboard is updated in near real time.

Refer to Manage Online Test Sessions for more information and a video about monitoring test progress.

9. What is the difference between a reporting roster and a non-reporting roster in TIDE?

When creating a roster in TIDE, district personnel have the option to select “Yes” or “No” to indicate whether the roster is a reporting roster.

Selecting “Yes” will create a reporting roster that associates teachers and students for the purpose of providing access to results in the Centralized Reporting System (CRS).

Selecting "No" will create a non-reporting roster that groups students together for the purpose of printing ancillary materials in TIDE, such as a test tickets. A teacher is not associated with a non-reporting roster, but the roster status can be modified later to associate a teacher and become a reporting roster.

10. What is the difference between a proctored and an unproctored test session in the Test Delivery System (TDS)?

Proctored test sessions:

• can be started immediately after the session is created or can be scheduled in advance and started by the test administrator at the scheduled start time;

• must have a test administrator logged into the Test Administrator Interface of TDS to monitor the session and see student progress in real time; and

• are limited to a maximum of 200 students.

Unproctored test sessions:

• are scheduled in advance and automatically open at the scheduled time;

• can be monitored for student progress using the Monitoring Test Progress module in TIDE; and

• are not limited to a maximum number of students.

Refer to How to Create Test Sessions for more information on proctored and unproctored test sessions.

11. What should district testing personnel do if a student begins an operational assessment that the student is scheduled to take on a different day (e.g., a student starts a science assessment instead of a social studies assessment)?

If the student has already begun responding to questions on the wrong assessment, the student should complete that assessment on the same day. The student may then take the correct assessment on a different day within the testing window.

12. Which students are classified as “New to Texas”?

A student in grades 3–12 who starts the current school year in another state or country and transfers into a Texas public school district or open-enrollment charter school during the same school year is considered new to Texas for that school year. The new-to-Texas classification applies to the entire testing cycle each school year, and the student should be marked with this classification in TIDE for the first testing opportunity of STAAR or for STAAR Alternate 2.

A student who starts the current school year in Texas (i.e., in a Texas public school district, charter school, home school, or private school), moves outside of Texas, and then transfers into a Texas public school district or open-enrollment charter school during the same school year is not considered new to Texas, regardless of how many times he or she moves in and out of Texas during that school year.

13. How can a teacher access his or her students’ test results?

A teacher can access his or her students’ test results through CRS if a roster has been created associating those students with that teacher. Rosters can contain a maximum of 500 students. Refer to the CRS User Guide for more information.

Score Codes

14. What score code should district testing personnel use for a student who is not tested?

Both federal and state law require that students enrolled in public school districts and open enrollment charter schools take the STAAR assessment in order to measure their understanding of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Federal and state law also specify that all EB students in kindergarten through grade 12 enrolled in public schools or open-enrollment charter schools must participate in TELPAS. EB students are required to be assessed annually with an English language proficiency assessment until they meet EB reclassification criteria.

As all eligible students must be accounted for, district personnel should enter score codes in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE during the specific testing window for students who are not tested. When entering specific score codes in TIDE, district testing personnel must also enter a rationale. For specific score code scenarios, refer to the Enter Student Information in TIDE page in these Coordinator Resources.

15. What score code should district testing personnel use for a student who is homebound and cannot test?

District testing personnel must make an effort to test homebound students, as all enrolled students are required to be accounted for. A trained test administrator may administer the assessment at the student’s home or at another facility as long as district testing personnel can ensure equitable access and maintain test security. If testing is not possible:

• If the student is able to participate in instruction but not in testing, use score code “O.”

• If the student is unable to participate in instruction or testing, use score code “A.”

16. What score code should district testing personnel use for a student who is suspended?

If a student is suspended during the entire testing window, enter score code “A” in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE. However, since most suspensions last 1–3 days, it is likely that a suspended student will be able to be assessed during the testing window.

17. What score code should district testing personnel use for a student who has been expelled?

In many cases, if a student has been moved to an alternate campus, disciplinary alternative education program, or juvenile justice alternative education program, the student should test there. Refer to the Administrations in Alternative Education Settings page in these Coordinator Resources for more information.

• If an expelled student is still enrolled in the district but not able to test, use score code "A."

• If an expelled student is no longer enrolled and did not start his or her assessment, no action is needed. The test record will be voided.

• If a student is expelled after starting his or her assessment and is no longer enrolled, the online test record should be removed. Use the Do Not Report option in the Create Requests task in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE to remove the online test record.

18. What score code should district testing personnel use for a student who is unable to finish testing?

For a student who is sick and is unable to finish testing, district personnel must determine whether the student’s assessment should be scored. If the determination is that the assessment should be scored, no action needs to be taken. An “S” score code will be automatically applied at the end of the testing window without requiring further action by the student or by district personnel. If the determination is that the assessment should not be scored, an “O” score code and a rationale of “Ill” should be entered in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE.

19. What score code should district testing personnel use for an asylee/refugee who qualifies for an exemption from taking a STAAR grades 3–8 assessment?

If a student qualifies for an exemption from a STAAR grades 3–8 assessment due to their status as an asylee/refugee, district personnel should enter an “O” score code and a rationale of "Asylee/Refugee" in the Create Requests task in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE during the testing window.

Accommodations

20. Can all students use accessibility features?

Although accessibility features are available for all students, a student must routinely use the accessibility feature in classroom instruction and testing for the student to be able to use it on a state assessment. Refer to the Accessibility Features page for more information.

21. Do district testing personnel need to record the use of accessibility features?

No, there is no need to document the use of accessibility features.

22. Do district testing personnel need to record accommodations if students did not use them?

For STAAR and TELPAS, district testing personnel should record the accommodation that is documented and made available to a student even if the student did not use the accommodation during testing. This includes accommodations that are made available to a student in an unexpected or emergency situation. District personnel should enter the accommodation in the appropriate fields in TIDE according to the directions included in the Enter Student Information in TIDE page. For STAAR Alternate 2, only accommodations that are used during the administration are noted in TIDE, and the notation is made after the student has completed testing.

23. What should district testing personnel do if an accommodation has been incorrectly provided to a student (e.g., a calculator is provided to a grade 7 student taking a mathematics assessment)?

If the student is still testing, the test administrator must remove or disable the accommodation and allow the student to complete the assessment. The assessment should be submitted, and a Procedural Testing Irregularity form for an accommodation error must be completed. If the student has completed and submitted the assessment, a Procedural Testing Irregularity form must still be completed. This form can be accessed through the Submit a Form task in the Administration and Security Forms module in TIDE.

24. What should district testing personnel do if they fail to provide a student with an online accommodation that is required by his or her individualized education program (IEP)?

If the error is discovered while the student is testing, the error may be able to be corrected, and the student will be able to continue testing with the required accommodation.

To turn on the large mouse pointer, the student must log out, log back in, and apply the appropriate attribute using the test attributes screen.

To turn on the following accommodations, the student must log out, district testing personnel must turn on the accommodation in TIDE, and the student must then log back in:

• Text-to-Speech

• Auto Text-to-Speech

• Speech-to-Text

• Basic TI Calculator

• Spell Check

• Permissive Mode

• Word Prediction (Co:Writer)

To turn on the following accommodations, the student must have answered fewer than five questions and must log out, the assessment must be reset and the accommodation turned on by district testing personnel, and the student must log in to the reset assessment:

• Content and Language Supports

• Braille

• ASL Videos

For content and language supports, refreshable braille, and American Sign Language (ASL), if the student has answered five or more questions, the accommodation error CANNOT be corrected and the assessment cannot be reset. District personnel must decide if the absence of the accommodation warrants the invalidation of the assessment. If it does, an “O” score code and a rationale of "Testing incident" must be entered using the Create Requests task in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE. If an invalidation is not warranted, no action needs to be taken. An “S” score code will be automatically applied at the end of the administration without further action by the student or by district personnel. District personnel should consider whether the assessment is required for graduation and should also inform the parents of the error.

If an accommodation error is discovered after the student has finished testing, the error cannot be corrected. District personnel must decide if the absence of the accommodation warrants the invalidation of the assessment and follow the steps in the previous paragraph.

For all these circumstances in which district testing personnel failed to provide a student with an accommodation that is required by his or her IEP prior to the beginning of the assessment, a Procedural Testing Irregularity form for an accommodation error must be completed. This form can be accessed through the Submit a Form task in the Administration and Security Forms module in TIDE.

25. For an oral administration of an online assessment, what is the difference between text-to-speech (TTS) and auto TTS?

TTS and auto TTS are embedded supports within TDS for students who meet the eligibility requirements for an oral administration of an online assessment. District personnel must select one of these two options in TIDE for students who are eligible for this accommodation.

TTS allows a student to independently select and change the level of reading support during the test administration. Auto TTS automatically reads aloud the text on the screen and does not allow a student to independently select or change the level of reading support during the test administration.

For more information regarding oral administration, refer to the Oral and Signed Administration policy document in the Accommodations section of these Coordinator Resources.

26. What should district testing personnel do if TTS is not working for students testing in Spanish?

Because TTS uses the local device’s native accessibility voice pack, district personnel must ensure that a Spanish voice pack is installed and activated on a student’s device prior to the test administration. It is recommended that district personnel test the functionality of Spanish TTS on each device prior to administering the assessment to a student.

27. What is Permissive Mode?

Permissive Mode is a feature within the secure browser application that allows a student to use non-embedded assistive technology to complete an assessment.

For more information, refer to the Assistive Technology Manual for Windows & macOS.

Special Populations

28. What should district testing personnel do if they provide the wrong STAAR language version (English versus Spanish) to a student?

If the error is discovered while the student is testing, the student may be able to continue testing with the correct language version. Based on how far the student has progressed in the assessment and how much time remains in the school day, district personnel must decide if the assessment should be:

• reset, and a new testing opportunity with the correct language version should be administered and scored;

• continued with the current language version and scored; or

• invalidated because the wrong language version is an inappropriate assessment of the student’s knowledge and skills.

For a new testing opportunity with the correct language version, the assessment needs to be reset. To do this, the student must log out of the assessment. District testing personnel must submit a “Do Not Report” request, reset the incorrect assessment in the Appeals/Score Code module, and update the student’s presentation to the correct language version in TIDE. The student must then log in to the new assessment with the correct language. The student will resume testing at the beginning of the assessment with the correct language. The student must complete the assessment within the same school day unless the student has an Extra Day accommodation.

To invalidate the assessment, district testing personnel should use the Create Requests task in the Appeals/Score Codes module in TIDE and enter an “O” score code and "Testing incident" as the rationale.

If the language version error is discovered after the student has finished testing, the error cannot be corrected. District personnel must decide if the wrong language version of the test is an inappropriate assessment of the student’s knowledge and skills and warrants the invalidation of the assessment. To invalidate the assessment, follow the steps above to enter an “O” score code.

For all errors related to the wrong language version, a Procedural Testing Irregularity form for an eligibility error must be completed. This form can be accessed through the Submit a Form task in the Administration and Security Forms module in TIDE.

29. What should district testing personnel do for a student receiving special education services who has failed the first administration of a STAAR EOC assessment and whose admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee has determined that the student does not need to pass the assessment to graduate?

District personnel should remove the EOC eligibility flag and the retester flag in TIDE for the corresponding administration. Refer to the Registration section for more information.

30. What should district testing personnel do for an EB student who is not retaking the STAAR English I EOC assessment because of the special provision?

District personnel should remove the EOC eligibility flag and the retester flag in TIDE for the corresponding administration.

31. Are there image cards for every STAAR Alternate 2 question?

For STAAR Alternate 2, the stimuli in some questions have image cards, but the stimuli in all answer choices have image cards. District or campus personnel should refer to the STAAR Alternate 2 Image Card List posted in the Secure File Center.

32. What parts of the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment can be translated into the language the student is routinely instructed in?

The assessment is administered in English, so only the bold print in the presentation instructions may be translated into the language in which the student primarily communicates. If the student receives this accommodation, "Translated Presentation Instructions" should be marked on the student's scoring document and indicated in TIDE.

33. What should district testing personnel do if a student was tested with TELPAS but should not have participated in a particular domain based on an ARD committee decision?

If this error is discovered during the testing window, district testing personnel should mark the online assessment with “Do Not Report.” The student’s test eligibility for a special administration will need to be updated in TIDE. Then district testing personnel can submit an “X“ score code for the ARD exempted domain and provide a special administration of the assessment for the other domain.

If this error is discovered after the testing window, it will need to be corrected during the data correction window. District testing personnel should change the score code for the online assessment record to an “O” for a testing incident.

District personnel should inform the parents of the testing error. A Procedural Testing Irregularity form for an eligibility error must be completed and submitted through the Submit a Form task in the Administration and Security Forms module in TIDE.

34. Must all 40 TELPAS Alternate Observable Behaviors be completed in order to submit the assessment?

Yes, all 40 Observable Behaviors must be entered in the Data Entry Interface (DEI). If ratings for all 40 Observable Behaviors are not entered, the system will not allow the assessment to be submitted for scoring.