State of Texas Assessments
of Academic Readiness
What is STAAR?
The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) is a more rigorous
standardized testing program that will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge
and Skills (TAKS) for elementary, middle school and high school students.
How is the STAAR different from TAKS?
For all students in grades 3 through 12, the new STAAR program will emphasize
“readiness” standards, which are the knowledge and skills that are considered
most important for future success in the next grade or subject area and for
college or career.
Key Points for all students grade 3 – 12 include:
★ Increases in test difficulty with a focus on college/career readiness
★ Increases in the number of test items
★ Imposes a new, four-hour time limit on tests
★ Increases the number of open-ended questions on math and science
assessments
★ In grades 3-8, tests are in the same grades and subjects as TAKS
★ In fourth grade, two essays are required over two days
★ In seventh grade, three essays are required over two days
★ In English l, II and III, three essays are required over two days
★ EOC assessment score will be worth 15% of the final grade for the course
(15% requirement waived for 2011-2012 school year only)
Who will take the STAAR End-of-Course Exam and how will it
be counted for the course grade and for graduation?
★ Students entering the ninth grade in 2011-12 (the graduating class of 2015) and beyond,
must meet STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) requirements in order to graduate.
★ With the new STAAR program, the four TAKS Exit-Level tests will be replaced with fifteen
end-of-course (EOC) assessments.
★ All students will take the STAAR/EOC as they complete the corresponding course.
★ A student who receives special education services, will take STAAR/EOC. The
Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee will determine the appropriate test
and the manner in which the 15 percent rule will apply.
Courses requiring EOC exams
Math
English/
Language Arts - 2 Tests
Science
Social Studies
Algebra
English I – Reading & Writing
Biology
World Geography
Geometry
English II- Reading & Writing
Chemistry
World History
Algebra II
English III -Reading & Writing
Physics
U.S. History
Additional Requirements for EOC Assessments
Any student in the 2011-2012 school year and beyond who is
enrolled in a high school course that has a related EOC assessment
is required to test, including students who are earning credit
through:
★ 8th graders taking Algebra I
★ AP/IB courses
★ Correspondence courses
★ Credit by exam
★ Dual credit courses
Calculation of Final Course Grade with EOC Score*
To calculate a student’s final course grade in a course with an EOC
assessment, the following components will be used:
COURSE GRADE
EOC ASSESSMENT SCORE
FINAL COURSE GRADE
85%
15%
100%
The first and second semester grades are
averaged together and are worth 85% of
the final course grade.
*15% requirement waived for 2011-2012 school year only.
How will EOC affect Course Credit, Grade Point Average,
and Class Rank?
★ The final course grade will be used to determine credit earned in
a course with an EOC assessment.
★ Students may retake any EOC assessment for the purpose of
gaining course credit.
★ The EOC assessment score will not be used to calculate grade
point average and class rank.
What happens if you pass the Final Course Grade,
but fail the EOC assessment?
★ If a student earns a 70 or above for the final course grade, but does
not earn the required minimum score on the EOC assessment, the
student must retake the test.
★ However, the student is not required to retake the course as a
condition of retaking the EOC assessment for that course.
★ The district will provide accelerated instruction to each student who
fails to perform satisfactorily on an EOC assessment.
What are EOC testing requirements for
each Graduation Plan?
Minimum
Recommended
Distinguished
Take EOC
assessments for
courses enrolled
(8-15 tests)
Take all 15 EOC
assessments
Take all 15 EOC
assessments
Meet cumulative
score
requirement
Meet cumulative
score
requirement
Meet cumulative
score
requirement
Achieve Level II:
Satisfactory
Performance on
Algebra II
and English III
Achieve Level III:
Advanced
Performance on
Algebra II
and English III
What do you need to graduate?
The requirements to graduate will vary among the Minimum, Recommended
and Distinguished graduation plans. Satisfactory Academic Performance
(Level II) on the EOC assessments will be considered passing.
UNSATISFACTORY
LEVEL I
MINIMUM
Performance in this category indicates
that students are inadequately
prepared for the next grade or course.
SATISFACTORY
LEVEL II
ADVANCED
LEVEL III
Performance in this category indicates
that students are sufficiently prepared
for the next grade or course.
Performance in this category indicates
that students are well prepared for the
next grade or course.
For Algebra II and English III, this level
of performance also indicates students’
college readiness.
Must retake EOC
Scores meeting
the minimum
requirement, while
unsatisfactory,
may still count for
cumulative score
Recommended Graduation Plan:
Must achieve Level II scores on
Algebra II and English III EOC tests
Note: See next slide for cumulative score information
Distinguished Graduation Plan:
Must achieve Level III scores on
Algebra II and English III EOC tests
Graduation Requirements
★ A student must achieve a minimum score on an EOC assessment for it
to count toward graduation requirements.
★ TEA has set minimum, satisfactory (passing), and advanced standards
for EOC assessments, phasing in over a 4 year period. (See later slide)
 The phase-in scores used are based on when a student takes
his/her first STAAR EOC assessment in that content area, and then
will apply to all subsequent EOC assessments in that content area.
★ Students not meeting the minimum score must retake the assessment
at the next available opportunity.
★ In addition, in order to graduate a student must meet a cumulative
score on all of the EOC assessments taken in each content area:
English (Reading & Writing), Math, Science and Social Studies.
★ Students who have met the minimum score on an EOC assessment may
retake the assessment to increase the overall cumulative score needed
for their particular graduation plan.
CUMULATIVE SCORE REQUIREMENTS
★ In each content area, the scores for all three EOC tests will
be added together.
 English Language Arts will add together scores for the three
reading and three writing assessments
★ The cumulative score must be equal to or greater than the
passing standard multiplied by the number of tests.
On the next slide, for example purposes only, the passing standard
is assumed to be 1000, and therefore the cumulative score would
be 3000 per content area. Other assumed scores:
800 - Level 1 (Minimum Standard)
1000 - Level 2 (Satisfactory Standard)
1200 - Level 3 (Advanced Standard)
CUMULATIVE SCORE EXAMPLE:
Math
* Refer to
numbered
statements
below for
additional
information
on specific
scores.
Cumulative
Score *(1)
English
(Reading & Writing)
Science
Social Studies
Algebra I
800
(6)
English I Reading
1000
(2)
English I Writing
1000
(2)
Biology
900
(6)
World Geography
1100
(2)
Geometry
1200
(2)
English II Reading
1000
(2)
English II Writing
1000
(2)
Chemistry
900
(6)
World History
1000
(2)
Algebra II
1000
(2)
English III Reading
400
English III Writing
300
(4)
Physics
1000
(2)
US History
1000
(2)
2800
3100
(3)
3000
(3)
(4)
4000 out of 6000
(4)
(5)
(1) In the above example, the required cumulative score for each subject would have to be at least 3000
for the student to graduate.
(2) Meets the assumed passing standard of at least 1000 and counts toward the cumulative score.
(3) The student would have met the cumulative score for Math and Social Studies.
(4) The student would need to retest on the English III Reading and Writing EOC assessments because
both scores falls below the minimum and do not count toward the cumulative score (3000 for
Reading and 3000 for Writing).
(5) The student would need to retest on any one or more of the three Science EOC assessments to
meet the cumulative score requirement of 3000 for Science.
(6) In the example, a score of 800 or 900 does not meet the satisfactory (passing) standard; however, it
meets the minimum and will count in the cumulative total for the subject.
EOC Minimum and Level Standards
Phased in over a 4 year period
Explanation of Phased in Scores:
For a student in 9th Grade who took the English I Reading EOC in the Spring of 2012, their minimum score would be 1813
and their Level II score would be 1875. For the subsequent English Reading II & III EOCs for this student, their level II
score would remain 1875, and their minimum score would remain at the “Phase-in 1 Minimum” level, 1806 for English II
Reading and 1808 for English III Reading .
Where can I go to get additional information
on STAAR?
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/