STATE OF TEXAS ASSESSMENTS
OF ACADEMIC READINESS
(STAARTM)
READING
Grades 3–8
English I, II, and III
Victoria Young
Director of Reading, Writing, and
Social Studies Assessments
Texas Education Agency
2
STAAR Reading Performance
Spring 2012 Statewide Results
Phase-in and Recommended Standards
Grade/Course
Phase-in
Standard
Recommended
Standard
Grade 3
76%
39%
Grade 4
77%
42%
Grade 5
77%
40%
Grade 6
75%
38%
Grade 7
76%
39%
Grade 8
80%
43%
English I
68%
46%
The Big Picture—What Students
Have to Know How To Do
3
Think critically/inferentially about different
types of texts (in essence, know how to do
more than literally read the lines: know
how to read “between” the lines and
“beyond” the lines)
Make connections—at differing levels of
depth and complexity—both within and
across texts
Understand what makes a connection
between texts thematic or meaningful (and
what doesn’t)
Understand and be able to apply the
specific academic vocabulary associated
with literary and informational reading
The Big Picture—What Students
Have to Know How To Do
4
Understand that the way an author crafts a
piece drives the way the reader reads it.
Know that authors use different “tools” to
craft different types of pieces (e.g., genres).
Be able to identify these tools and
pinpoint/articulate how they affect meaning.
Understand the difference between effective
text evidence and flawed text evidence.
Know how to stay “inside” the text to find
evidence that truly confirms the validity of
an idea. Know how to find and use text
evidence for different genres of reading.
STAAR Short Answer Reading
Performance Labels Based on the Rubric
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Score Point 0—INSUFFICIENT
Score Point 1—PARTIALLY SUFFICIENT
Score Point 2—SUFFICIENT
Score Point 3—EXEMPLARY
The goal: moving all students from the
lower half of the score-scale range (0 or
1) to the upper half of the range (2 or 3)
What Short Answer Questions Require
(and why they are essential to reading
development at all levels)
6
To become good readers, students must
understand what constitutes a credible IDEA in
response to a question about a text or texts.
An IDEA represents the quality and depth of
thinking and understanding
IDEA in a score of 3 on STAAR: perceptive,
coherent, discerning, clearly analytical
IDEA in a score of 2 on STAAR: reasonable
and specific; goes beyond literal reading
(even if it’s only slightly beyond)
What Short Answer Questions Require
(and why they are essential to reading
development at all levels)
7
IDEA in a score of 1 on STAAR: lacks
explanation or specificity; represents only a
literal reading of the text
IDEA in a score of 0 on STAAR: doesn’t
answer the question; incorrect or invalid
reading of the text; too general, vague, or
unclear to judge whether it is reasonable
What Short Answer Questions Require
(and why they are essential to reading
development at all levels)
8
To become good readers, students must by
able to use TEXT EVIDENCE to prove that their
ideas are valid/credible.
TEXT EVIDENCE substantiates the reader’s
ideas; it reflects the degree to which the
reader can connect his or her own ideas
with the pieces of the text that best support
the analysis.
What Short Answer Questions Require
(and why they are essential to reading
development at all levels)
9
TEXT EVIDENCE in a score of 3 on STAAR:
specific and well chosen
TEXT EVIDENCE in a score of 2 on STAAR:
accurate and relevant
TEXT EVIDENCE in a score of 1 on STAAR:
only a general reference, too partial,
weakly linked, or wrongly manipulates the
meaning of the text
TEXT EVIDENCE in a score of 0: either
missing or not attached to an idea
Why We Have to Include Text
Complexity in the Conversation
10
If we want students to do on-grade-level
work, we must teach them how to “tackle”
increasingly complex texts each year. Text
complexity is driven by a variety of factors:
The author’s vocabulary/use of language
may be more varied and challenging
because it is nonliteral/figurative,
abstract, academic, or technical
Sentence structures may be more varied,
dense, and sophisticated
Why We Have to Include Text
Complexity in the Conversation
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The author’s use of literary
elements/devices, rhetorical strategies,
organizational patterns, and text features
may be more nuanced or sophisticated
The topic/content may be less familiar or
more cognitively demanding
Relationships among ideas may be less
explicit and require more interpretation,
reasoning, and inferential thinking to
understand the subtlety, nuances, and depth
of ideas
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
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Why does the author use a particular genre
(e.g., literary nonfiction vs. expository,
expository vs. persuasive)?
Why does the author include a particular
paragraph or paragraphs?
Why does the author begin or end a piece in
a particular way?
Why does the author include a description of
XX?
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
13
How do a character’s relationships with
other characters or motivations to take
certain actions affect the plot/conflict/
outcome of a story?
How does the author use dialogue to
develop a particular character or the
relationship between characters?
How does the point of view from which the
story is told affect the reader’s
understanding of characters and events?
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
14
What is the effect of setting on events/
characters/outcome of a story?
How does a poet, playwright, or author use
imagery, simile, metaphor, hyperbole,
personification, time disruptions (flashback,
foreshadowing) to create meaning?
Why is XX ironic? How is XX symbolic?
Which sentence best indicates, suggests,
establishes, illustrates, describes, explains,
expresses, supports, reflects, reveals,
shows (“shows” at lower grades only)?
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
15
What is significant (important) about XX?
How does the author organize the selection?
Why does the author organize the
information in a particular way?
Why does the author include a particular
section (under a subheading) of an
expository piece?
What is the author’s attitude toward his/her
subject? (attitude
tone)
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
16
How does the author’s use of particular
words or phrases create a particular tone?
How does the use of particular words affect
meaning?
Why does the author include quotations
from particular people/entities/publications?
Why does the author use particular
rhetorical strategies—e.g., italics, ellipses,
questions, comparisons/analogies,
repetition, exaggeration?
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
17
How does the author support each of his/her
arguments?
What is the author’s most convincing reason
(and why)?
Does the author make a convincing case for
his position/opinion?
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
18
Media/Procedural
What is the tone of the photograph?
What can the reader infer from the photograph
and its caption? (At lower grades: The
photograph helps the reader know XX.)
Why does the author include the boxed
information?
Why does the author include a map? What can
the reader conclude from the map?
How does the embedded media or procedural
element add to the reader’s understanding of
the piece (or a section of the piece)?
What Students Have to Know for
STAAR Reading—Some Specifics
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Connecting Selections
What is one similarity or difference between
the two selections or between the narrators/
speakers/characters/authors in the two
selections?
What is a theme or idea explored in both
selections? Is the central message of the
two selections the same?
How does a particular quotation from one
selection link/correspond thematically to a
quotation from the other selection?
The Link between Reading and
Analytical Writing
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The analytical writing task is an interpretive
essay about one aspect of a literary or
informational text (fiction, literary nonfiction,
expository, or persuasive) that is
approximately 375–450 words in length.
The analytical essay requires students to
demonstrate the skills required in expository
and persuasive writing as well as those
required on short answer reading questions.
The writer’s thesis statement must be a
reasonable (though contestable) assertion
about one aspect of a text that can be
supported with textual evidence.
The Link between Reading and
Analytical Writing
21
Ineffective approaches confuse
analysis and summary
general text references and specific text
evidence
Students must integrate their analysis and their
text evidence so that their essay is coherent.
(This will also help their short answer reading
responses—and their reading and writing
performance in the lower grades.)
Analytical essays are scored on the quality of the
interpretation, the strength of the text evidence,
and the overall effectiveness of the essay.
CONTACT INFORMATION
22
Victoria Young
Director of Reading, Writing, and Social
Studies Assessments
Texas Education Agency
512-463-9536
victoria.young@tea.state.tx.us