Elementary Assessments

State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®)

STAAR is an assessment program designed to measure the extent to which students have learned and are able to apply the knowledge and skills defined in the state-mandated curriculum standards, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Every STAAR question is directly aligned to the TEKS currently implemented for the grade/subject or course being assessed. STAAR includes assessments for:

• Mathematics in grades 3–5
• Reading language arts (RLA) in grades 3-5
• Science in grade 5

STAAR Alternate 2 (STAAR Alt 2) is designed to assess students in grades 3–8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services. STAAR Alt 2 includes assessments for:

• Mathematics in grades 3–5
• Reading language arts (RLA) in grades 3-5

STAAR Spanish is administered to eligible students for whom a Spanish version of STAAR is the most appropriate measure of their academic progress. STAAR Spanish tests are grade-level assessments and test the same grades and subjects as the general STAAR. STAAR Spanish includes assessments for:

• Mathematics in grades 3–5
• Reading language arts (RLA) in grades 3-5
• Science in grade 5

STAAR field test: Districts can be chosen to participate in field tests to make sure that newly-developed items measure what they were intended to measure. Field testing contributes to the development of fair, high-quality tests. Students do not receive scores on field-test items. It is best practice to field test all items prior to using them to calculate a student’s score. An item should not contribute to a student’s score until the item has been shown to be accurate, fair and valid.

Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS/TELPAS Alt)

TEA designed the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) and Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System Alternate (TELPAS Alt) to assess the progress that emergent bilingual (EB) students make in learning the English language. TELPAS Alt meets the federal requirement mandated under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which requires states to administer an alternate English language proficiency assessment for EB students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who cannot participate in the general ELP assessment, even with allowable accommodations.

Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth

Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth uses a RIT (Rasch UnIT) scale to accurately measure what students know, regardless of their grade level. It also measures growth over time, allowing you to track your child’s progress throughout the school year and across multiple years. Once your child completes a MAP Growth test, they receive a RIT score. MAP Growth includes assessments for:

• Mathematics in grades K–5
• Reading in grades K-5
• Science in grades 3-5

Spring Benchmark Assessment

The purpose of a benchmark exam is to understand if students have mastered specific standards and are ready to move on. Benchmark exams are given to help students prepare for end of year state testing. Our locally-developed benchmark assessments include:

• Mathematics in grades 3–5
• Reading language arts (RLA) in grades 3-5
• Science in grade 5

mCLASS

mCLASS is a universal screener that measures the development of reading skills of all students in grades K-2 through two main assessments: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and the Text Reading Comprehension (TRC) assessments. mCLASS also provides teachers with instructional reading activities for each student based on their assessment score in order to deliver targeted guidance on specific skills they may be struggling with.

mCLASS includes a built-in dyslexia screener for K-1 students. DIBELS includes Word Reading Fluency (WRF), a measure of word reading ability, and includes revised versions of the Letter Naming Fluency (LNF), Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF), and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) subtests to screen for deficits commonly associated with dyslexia risk, such as phonological awareness, rapid naming ability, and alphabetic principle. 

Kingore Observation Inventory (KOI) + planned experiences

The KOI increases teachers’ effectiveness in identifying and differentiating instruction for the students with gifted potentials by:

• Clarifying students’ response patterns to look for over time;
• Providing an ongoing series of enriched learning opportunities to all students that elicit advanced potentials; and

Implementing standards for observations and student products that document teachers’ insights about their students to other educators.

Planned experiences are sets of high-level, open-ended, whole-class activities designed specifically to elicit and diagnose gifted behaviors.

Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT)/Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)

NNAT is a nonverbal measure of general ability for students in kindergarten through grade 12.

CoGAT assesses a student’s academic aptitude and gifted abilities.