Should you wish to be removed from this email list or if someone in your district needs to be added, please contact Jessica Hassell at jhassell@esc6.net.

In response to district requests, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has extended the registration and testing windows for the BOY assessments by three weeks. The BOY assessments will now be available to administer until Friday, October 16, 2020. The registration window for both districts and parents will remain open until Friday, October 9, 2020. Specific instructions for district and parent registration, as well as additional resources, can be found on the Beginning of Year Assessments (BOY) District and Parent Tools webpage.

For questions and assistance with registration, contact Pearson’s Customer Service Center using the live chat feature, the Pearson Customer Support Form, or by calling 800-627-0225. If you have general questions about the optional BOY assessments, submit your inquiries to TEA using the Student Assessment Help Desk.

• Calendar of Events

  The printed version of the 2020–2021 Calendar of Events varies slightly from the online version. The online version has been updated to reflect that the STAAR grade 8 science and social studies tests are also available online on May 6 and 7. These testing dates correspond with the testing dates listed on the Student Assessment Testing Calendar for the 2020-2021 School Year. A downloadable, electronic copy of the Calendar of Events can be found in the District and Campus Coordinator Resources on the 2020–2021 Calendar webpage.

• User Roles and Permissions Matrix

  The User Roles and Permissions Matrix has been updated to include permissions for the out-of-district (OOD) and out-of-school (OOS) test site directory and interim assessment rosters.The updated matrix can be found in the Coordinator Resources on the Technology webpage.

Student Registration

Student registration for the December 2020 STAAR administration is now available through the STAAR Assessment Management System during the following dates:

• STAAR Paper Registration Window: September 14–October 2, 2020
• STAAR Online Registration Window: September 14–December 18, 2020

Quantities of test booklets and precoded answer documents shipped to districts will be based on paper registrations in the Assessment Management System at the close of the paper registration window noted above. Districts may now identify students that need large print or oral administration directly in the student’s test registration. Districts can also order additional large print or oral administration materials through the Assessment Management System via Orders > Initial Orders.

OOD and OOS Registration

• OOD and OOS examinees may now register for the December 2020 STAAR administration. Examinees should register online at https://texastests.com/forms/student-reg-eoc by October 2, 2020, for districts to receive precoded materials and test booklets.

Braille Material Kit Orders

• The deadline to order braille materials for the December 2020 STAAR administration is October 2, 2020.

New Limited English Proficient (LEP) Indicator

• Beginning with the 2020–2021 school year, there is a new LEP indicator. LEP-Indicator-Code 5 identifies students who have previously been identified as LEP or English learners, have met reclassification criteria, and have completed four years of monitoring. Districts should enter an “E” in the registration upload file for this code.

District coordinators must train campus testing coordinators who are administering the December STAAR assessments in the fall prior to this administration. It is recommended that these campus coordinators are trained by November 20, 2020.

Campus coordinators must train test administrators who are administering the December STAAR assessments in the fall prior to this administration. It is recommended that test administrators are trained by December 4, 2020.

Registration is now available for the ESC 6 2020 District Testing Coordinator Training to be held virtually on September 29th, 2020 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

Registration Link for Session #423510

This training is the annual MANDATED training that District Testing Coordinators must receive before state assessment. In this session, you will receive the TEA assessment training for the year. It is the responsibility of the District Testing Coordinator to turn the training around to their own Campus Testing Coordinators. Registration is password protected. The password will be sent to all District Testing Coordinators via email. Anyone registering for this session who is not a District Testing Coordinator MUST retrieve the password from his or her District Testing Coordinator.

The following training webinars are coming soon. Select the link to register for the training. Webinar information and registration links are also available on the Training webpage.

• The “Fall Activities for the December 2020 STAAR Administration” webinar will take place Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CT).
  

• The “Technology Staff Network Configuration, Secure Browser Installation, and Device Set Up” webinar will take place Thursday, October 15, 2020, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CT).
  

• Note: The “Online Testing Preparation for the December 2020 STAAR Administration” webinar date has changed. The webinar will take place Monday, October 19, 2020, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CT).
  

• The “Overview of the STAAR Online Testing Platform” webinar will take place Thursday, October 22, 2020, 1:30–3:00 p.m. (CT).

The online testing window is extended for both STAAR 3–8 assessments and STAAR end-of-course (EOC) assessments:

• two weeks for the December 2020 STAAR EOC assessments (December 8–18),
• five weeks for the April 2021 STAAR grades 3–8 and EOC assessments (April 6–May 7),
• five weeks for the May 2021 STAAR EOC assessments (May 4–June 4),
• five weeks for the May 2021 STAAR grades 3–8 assessments (May 11–June 11), and
• two weeks for the June 2021 STAAR grades 3–8 and EOC assessments (June 22–July 2).

No formal changes will be made to the current Accountability System until the end of the calendar year per Commissioner Morath. There are too many unknowns regarding the reopening of schools to make decisions now. TEA, ATAC and APAC are working through various scenarios to make the best decisions regarding Accountability for 2020-2021.

All districts and campuses are labeled Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster for 2020. Visit TXSchools.gov to view the 2019 accountability rating reports for each district, campus, and open-enrollment charter school in the state of Texas.

The 2020 College, Career, and Military Readiness and Graduation Rate reports will be available in the fall with the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR).

A downloadable spreadsheet of statewide 2020 ratings, school improvement identification status, and demographic information is available in Excel.

For more information, see the TEA website at: https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/accountability/academic-accountability/performance-reporting/2020-accountability-rating-system

College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) Verifier Update

Please note that the original release of the CCMR Verifier did not include credit for students who qualified for but rejected three or more hours of college credit through the OnRamps program.

As of today, the 2020 Preliminary CCMR Student Listing (Excel) within the Verifier application has been updated to accurately reflect credit for these students. Due to technical complexities, the student selection screen will not be updated. Districts should verify the OnRamps data provided in the 2020 Preliminary CCMR Student Listing (Excel). If additional updates are needed, districts should use the Verifier to submit a change request.

CCMR Tracker Update

The original release of the CCMR Tracker also did not include credit for students who qualified for but rejected three or more hours of college credit through the OnRamps program. Performance Reporting staff is working to update the application and anticipate that it will be ready for redeployment next week. Please look for an update in next week’s bulletin.

Snapshot Now Available

Snapshot 2019: School District Profiles is now available on the TEA website at http://tea.texas.gov/perfreport/snapshot/index.html.

Snapshot profiles public education in Texas, at both the state and district levels, and includes almost 100 separate data elements to either browse or download. Snapshot also combines the data into summary tables based on specific characteristics, and its peer-search function allows a user to group districts according to shared characteristics.

The confidential (unmasked) 2020 Results Driven Accountability (RDA) district report, data download, and significant disproportionality indicators report for your district is now available through the Accountability application on the Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL) web site. These reports are confidential and must be handled as such.

Accessing the TEAL Accountability Application

Log onto TEAL.

If you have access to TEAL Accountability, you will see ACCT – Accountability listed as one of the applications available. Launching ACCT – Accountability will take you into the site. You can access your district’s 2020 RDA report by clicking on the PBM tab.

Obtaining a TEAL Username and Password or Access to the Accountability Application

If you do not have a TEAL username and password, or if you do not have access to the Accountability application on TEAL, follow the TEAL request process outlined at:

http://tea.texas.gov/About_TEA/Other_Services/Secure_Applications/TEA__Secure_Applications_Information/.

This link to TEA Secure Applications Information also provides TEAL and TEAL login buttons that guide you through the process to follow if you have forgotten, or wish to reset, your TEAL or TEAL password.

Additional Resources for Interpreting Your District’s 2020 RDA Reports

Please refer to the 2020 Results Driven Accountability Manual for detailed descriptions of the methodology and data sources for each of the 2019 RDA indicators.

Contact Information

For technical assistance, please contact PBM Education Service Center (ESC) contacts. ESC contacts can be found at http://tea4avholly.tea.state.tx.us/tea.askted.web/Forms/Home.aspx using the Search RESCs tab.

For questions about the 2019 RDA Manual, policies or intervention requirements, please contact the Texas Education Agency Division of Review and Support at (512) 463-9414 or via email at reviewandsupport@tea.texas.gov.

For questions about the RDA indicators' technical data processing, calculations or report, please contact the Texas Education Agency Performance-Based Monitoring (PBM) at (512) 463-9704 or via email at pbm@tea.texas.gov.

Due to COVID-19-related uncertainty about school schedules, the local accountability team is adopting a flexible approach to district development of a local accountability plan. The Local Accountability Guide provides information about plan requirement and example components.

Districts wishing to learn more about the local accountability system and how to develop a district local accountability plan can participant in an hour-long overview webinar with time for Q & A.

Registration links are available for remaining webinar dates in September. Registration links for dates in October will be available soon.

Tuesday, September 15, 2020 at 2 pm

Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 3 pm

Please contact the local accountability system team at LAS@tea.texas.gov for additional information or to set up a virtual meeting to discuss specifics related to your district.

Local Accountability website: https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/accountability/academic-accountability/local-accountability-system

Intervention & Submission calendars were posted on August 13th on the TEA website. The calendars may be accessed at the links below.

• Visit the District Accountability Intervention and Guidance webpage and choose District Interventions Matrix.
• Visit the Campus Accountability Intervention and Guidance webpage and choose Campus Interventions Matrix.

Texas Education Agency
Student Assessment Division
1701 N. Congress Avenue, Room 3-122A
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: (512) 463-9536
Fax: (512) 463-9302

ETS Customer Service
(STAAR Grades 3–8, EOC, and Interim Assessments):
Phone:(855) 333-7770
Email:
STAAR3-8@ets.org
STAAREOC@ets.org

Pearson's Customer Service Center
(STAAR Alternate 2, TELPAS. and TELPAS Alternate):
Phone: (800) 627-0225
Email: TxPearsonAccess@support.pearson.com

Jessica Hassell, M.Ed.

Assessment, Accountability & School Improvement Specialist

Regional Testing Coordinator

Region 6 Education Service Center

Email: jhassell@esc6.net
Website: https://www.esc6.net/
Location: 3332 Montgomery Rd, Huntsville, TX, USA
Phone: 936-435-8355