Administrations in Alternative Education Settings

Students who are attending school in alternative education settings or placements must be provided with opportunities to participate in STAAR, STAAR Alternate 2, TELPAS, and TELPAS Alternate, as appropriate.

The information on this page applies only to assessments administered in the following alternative settings:

  • juvenile justice alternative education programs (JJAEPs)

  • disciplinary alternative education programs (DAEPs)

  • placements such as hospitals, residential facilities, jails, or shelters

  • special education cooperatives

Understand District Responsibilities for Students Who Test at Alternative Education Settings

Students testing in a JJAEP, a DAEP, or another alternate placement will have their results attributed to the campus and district they would be attending if they were not assigned to an alternative education setting. The home campus of a student moving from one district to another to enroll in an alternative setting depends on the attribution of the student’s average daily attendance. If the student enrolls in the district in which the alternative education setting is located, such as when the alternative setting is not a cooperative, the student’s scores will be attributed to the new district.

District and campus coordinators must:

❏ Manage Students Who Test at Alternative Settings

Home District Personnel Responsibilities

Alternative Education Setting Personnel Responsibilities

Before Testing

For all administrations:

  • Inform the alternative education setting of all students who will be testing at that location.

  • Ensure that students who will be testing at an alternative education setting are appropriately registered in their home district in TIDE and that the Testing District and Testing Campus fields are filled out with the alternative education setting’s information.

  • Ensure that all test administrators, raters, and personnel handling secure test materials in alternative education settings have been trained and that they complete an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality.

For online administrations: Provide a student test ticket to the alternative education setting for each student testing online. Students must use the student ID on the test ticket to log in to an assessment at the alternative education setting. The home district is responsible for coordinating delivery of test tickets (physical or electronic) with the alternative education setting. Test tickets are secure materials, and printed test tickets should be kept in locked storage until testing day.

For all administrations: Ensure that the campus coordinator and all test administrators, raters, and verifiers have been trained and complete an Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality.

For online administrations: Ensure that the technology staff at the alternative education setting complete the following steps before testing:

  • Review the appropriate systems requirements for the assessment being administered to ensure that computers are prepared for online testing. Requirements are found on the Secure Browsers webpage.

  • Disable any auto-updates and screen savers until the testing window is closed.

  • If needed, contact Texas Testing Support for technology assistance.

For paper and holistic administrations: Receive test materials from the state’s testing contractor. All test materials are shipped to the alternative education setting for eligible students who have the alternative education setting indicated as their Testing District and Testing Campus in TIDE by the deadline on the Calendar of Events. If an alternative education setting requires additional paper materials, contact Texas Testing Support.

Home District Personnel Responsibilities

Alternative Education Setting Personnel Responsibilities

During Testing (for Online Administrations)

  • Monitor testing by using TIDE to generate reports that provide information about a test administration’s progress, as needed.

  • Be available to respond to calls from the alternative setting and to contact Texas Testing Support, as needed.

  • Provide student test tickets to students.

  • Administer the assessment.

  • If a student takes a break, follow the instructions in the appropriate test administrator manual to ensure that the student clicks the Pause button. To resume an assessment that has been paused, the student should log back in to the assessment using the original test ticket.

Home District Personnel Responsibilities

Alternative Education Setting Personnel Responsibilities

After Testing

For all administrations:

  • Verify that all students have completed and submitted their assessments, that all data have been submitted in DEI, and that TELPAS holistic ratings have been uploaded into TIDE. Refer to the Monitor Online Administrations page for more information on reports that assist in monitoring online test completion.

  • Clean up data by adding or editing nonparticipation codes for students who did not participate in or complete an administration as intended. Refer to the TIDE User Guide for instructions on performing data cleanup.

  • Results will be reported in the data file to the home campus and district. The home campus and district will also receive an electronic copy of the student report card.

For all administrations: Advise the home district that the students have completed testing. Notify the home district coordinator of any needed updates to score codes, rater information, or use of accommodations.

For online administrations: Destroy the student test tickets along with any scratch paper, graph paper, or reference materials that students have written on.

For paper administrations:

  • Submit students’ responses for STAAR Alternate 2 and for paper administrations of STAAR and TELPAS in DEI by the last day of the testing window to ensure that they are scored.

  • Destroy any scratch paper, graph paper, or reference materials that students have written on.

For holistic administrations:

  • Submit students’ ratings for TELPAS holistic administrations in TIDE and for TELPAS Alternate in DEI by the last day of the testing window. For more information, refer to the Complete Administrations section.

  • Provide the home district with completed copies of the TELPAS Student Rating Roster; students’ writing collections, including the cover sheet and verification checklist; and TELPAS Alternate Observable Behaviors inventories. These documents must be transmitted in a secure manner as they contain personally identifiable information (PII).

For paper and holistic administrations: Return test materials to the state’s testing contractor by the date indicated on the Calendar of Events.

For more information about test setup in alternative settings, contact Texas Testing Support.