STATE OF TEXAS ASSESSMENTS OF
ACADEMIC READINESS (STAAR ®)
Grades 38 Reading
Grades 4 and 7 Writing
English I and II
Victoria Young
Director of Reading, Writing, and
Social Studies Assessments
Texas Education Agency
STAAR Test Design
English I and II
2
Reading and writing combined into one test with one
score (no separate reading and writing scores)
Tests administered in a single day—5-hour time limit
Reading and writing contribute equally to total
score
30% — reading multiple choice
20% — short answer questions
24% — writing multiple choice
26% — essay
Multiple choice
54% of total test score
Performance
46% of total test score
STAAR Reading Performance
Spring 2013 Statewide Results
Phase-in and Recommended Standards
3
Grade/Course Phase-in 1
Phase-in 2
Recommended
Grade 3
79%
58%
40%
Grade 4
72%
57%
38%
Grade 5
77%
61%
39%
Grade 6
71%
57%
40%
Grade 7
77%
59%
38%
Grade 8
84%
67%
47%
English I
65%
53%
44%
English II
78%
70%
63%
2013 STAAR Short Answer Reading
English I and II Statewide Distributions
4
English I Scores
Single Selection
0
(Insufficient)
English II Scores
Single Selection
14%
0
(Insufficient)
7%
1
(Partially
Sufficient)
34%
1
(Partially
Sufficient)
28%
2
(Sufficient)
47%
2
(Sufficient)
52%
3
(Exemplary)
5%
3
(Exemplary)
12%
2013 STAAR Short Answer Reading
English I and II Statewide Distributions
5
English I Scores
Connecting Selections
English II Scores
Connecting Selections
0
(Insufficient)
31%
0
(Insufficient)
14%
1
(Partially
Sufficient)
36%
1
(Partially
Sufficient)
35%
2
(Sufficient)
29%
2
(Sufficient)
40%
3
(Exemplary)
5%
3
(Exemplary)
11%
Reading—What the Data Tell us
6
Students must be able to identify the
“tools” an author uses to craft a piece
and to pinpoint/articulate how they
affect meaning.
Students must be able to make
connections—at differing levels of
depth and complexity—both within
and across texts (including
connections between a text and its
accompanying photograph or
procedural piece)
Reading—What the Data Tell us
7
Students must have a command of
and be able to apply the specific
academic vocabulary associated with
literary and informational reading.
Student must know how to find and
use text evidence to confirm the
validity of an idea both within and
across texts.
Making Connections Within a Selection
8
Grade 3 expository (“Jessica the Hippo”)—question 5
The photograph best supports which idea from the
selection?
A. Jessica was on a special diet when she was a
baby. 14%
B. Jessica sometimes seeks the company of other
hippos. 7%
C. Jessica’s story made her famous around the
world. 36%
*D. Jessica’s size makes keeping her as a pet difficult.
43%
Making Connections Across Selections
9
Grade 8 pair—question 48
How does the author’s purpose for writing in “Dear Fellow
Writer” differ from the poet’s purpose in “What the Page
Says”?
*A. Mora persuades people to start writing, while the poet
describes a writer’s effort. 63%
B. Mora provides information about writing strategies,
while the poet encourages a writer to use a specific
strategy. 18%
C. Mora describes the writing process for readers, while
the poet does not. 12%
D. Mora entertains readers with a story about writing, while
the poet does not. 7%
Author’s Craft
10
Grade 6 expository (“Robot on the Ice”)—question 42
The author structures paragraphs 9 and 10 so that
they—
A. show that Nomad has been searching for
meteorites for a long time 17%
*B. explain the changes that were made to Nomad
before it could be used at the South Pole 58%
C. report early successes Nomad had while meteorite
hunting in South America 12%
D. emphasize the difficulties Nomad might encounter
while being used in Antarctica 13%
Author’s Craft
11
English I fiction (“I Wish I Was a Poet”)—question 33
The author uses ellipses primarily to—
*A. give the story a conversational tone 57%
B. make the reader think that the story will have an
unexpected ending 23%
C. indicate that the narrator is judgmental 8%
D. imply that the reader should act as a participant in
the events of the story 12%
Academic Vocabulary
12
Grade 6 fiction (“Pavel’s Journey”)—question 26
The point of view from which the story is told gives
the reader insight into —
A. Uncle John’s optimistic attitude 8%
*B. the reasons for the travelers’ journey 59%
C. Pavel’s feelings about his experience 19%
D. how beautiful the passengers’ destination is 14%
Academic Vocabulary
13
Grade 5 expository (“The Toy for All Ages”)—question 14
By organizing paragraph 3 sequentially, the author is
able to —
A. compare how different types of LEGO pieces are
made 8%
*B. explain the method for making LEGO bricks 66%
C. show how LEGO is able to make toys so quickly
13%
D. list the reasons why making LEGO bricks is
simple 12%
Short Answer
14
English II Single Selection—Spring 2013
How would you describe Paul in the excerpt from
The Custom of the Country? Support your answer
with evidence from the selection.
English II Connecting Selections—Spring 2013
Do you think Jaime Teevan in “2009 Young
Innovators Under 35: Jaime Teevan, 32” and Barry
Bingham, Jr. in “Digital Dad Versus the Dinosaurs”
have anything in common? Explain your answer
and support it with evidence from both selections.
Why We Have to Include Text
Complexity in the Conversation
15
To be successful on STAAR (and in
class), students must be able to read ongrade-level texts of varying complexities.
That requires learning to independently
“tackle”—or negotiate—increasingly
complex literary and informational texts.
Why We Have to Include Text
Complexity in the Conversation
16
Remember that text complexity is driven by
a variety of factors:
The degree to which the vocabulary or
language used is nonliteral/figurative,
abstract, academic, or technical
The degree to which the sentence
structures used are varied, dense, and
sophisticated
Why We Have to Include Text
Complexity in the Conversation
17
The degree to which the author’s use of
literary elements/devices, rhetorical
strategies, organizational patterns, and text
features is nuanced or sophisticated
The degree to which the topic or content is
unfamiliar or cognitively demanding
The degree to which relationships among
ideas require interpretation, reasoning, and
inferential thinking to understand the
subtlety, nuances, and depth of ideas
STAAR Writing Performance
Spring 2013 Statewide Results
Phase-in and Recommended Standards
18
Grade/Course Phase-in 1
Phase-in 2
Recommended
Grade 4
71%
51%
35%
Grade 7
70%
50%
29%
English I
48%
37%
30%
English II
52%
38%
30%
2013 STAAR Writing
Grade 4 Statewide Distributions
19
Personal Narrative
Summed Scores
Expository
Summed Scores
1/1 = 2
21%
1/1 = 2
21%
1/2 = 3
16%
1/2 = 3
17%
2/2 = 4
27%
2/2 = 4
36%
2/3 = 5
16%
2/3 = 5
15%
3/3 = 6
12%
3/3 = 6
8%
3/4 = 7
5%
3/4 = 7
2%
4/4 = 8
2%
4/4 = 8
1%
2013 STAAR Writing
Grade 7 Statewide Distributions
20
Personal Narrative
Summed Scores
Expository
Summed Scores
1/1 = 2
6%
1/1 = 2
10%
1/2 = 3
9%
1/2 = 3
13%
2/2 = 4
27%
2/2 = 4
35%
2/3 = 5
23%
2/3 = 5
21%
3/3 = 6
22%
3/3 = 6
14%
3/4 = 7
8%
3/4 = 7
5%
4/4 = 8
4%
4/4 = 8
2%
2013 STAAR Writing
English I and II Statewide Distributions
21
English I Expository
Summed Scores
English II Persuasive
Summed Scores
1/1 = 2
18%
1/1 = 2
4%
1/2 = 3
18%
1/2 = 3
6%
2/2 = 4
35%
2/2 = 4
34%
2/3 = 5
14%
2/3 = 5
23%
3/3 = 6
9%
3/3 = 6
24%
3/4 = 7
3%
3/4 = 7
6%
4/4 = 8
1%
4/4 = 8
2%
Writing—What Drives Scoring
22
RESPONSIVENESS to both the purpose and
the topic. Responsiveness is weakened when
the student
uses an inappropriate or marginally
appropriate organizing structure
includes ideas that are extraneous or only
marginally related to the topic
Writing—What Drives Scoring
23
FOCUS
Personal narrative must be focused on a
single real experience. Focus is weakened
when the student
includes details or events that do not
further the reader’s understanding of the
experience (e.g., unnecessary adjectives
and adverbs, events that are not actually
part of the narrative, and “bed to bed”
narratives)
separates the story line from the
extension/reflection
Writing—What Drives Scoring
24
FOCUS
Expository and persuasive writing must be
focused on the central “charge” of the prompt
(the “Write about”) An explicit, specific thesis
(central/controlling idea) or position statement
is critical to a focused essay—the earlier in the
paper, the better. Focus is weakened when the
thesis or position statement is
general or vague
evolving
Writing—What Drives Scoring
25
PROGRESSION/CONNECTIONS
What isn’t required: a specific number of ideas or
paragraphs
What is required: moving logically from sentence to
sentence and connecting ideas with meaningful
transitions so that the reader can really (easily)
follow the student’s train of thought
Progression/connections are weakened when the
student
moves randomly from sentence to sentence
does not use transitions or relies on perfunctory
transitions (e.g., The first thing that happened,
The next thing that happened; First, Second,
Third; My first reason, My final reason)
Writing—What Drives Scoring
26
PROGRESSION/CONNECTIONS
The biggest problem we see when an essay is lacking
in this area:
clusters of ideas that are each linked to the prompt
but not connected to each other—important in all
cases but especially if ideas are different “grain
sizes”
a roadblock to substance/depth/ thoughtfulness
because the student does not “build” from one idea to
the next
Remember
Unconnected ideas = superficial development
Superficial development = a score of 2
Writing—What Drives Scoring
27
DEVELOPMENT—Given the space constraints of
26 lines, what makes the most sense:
Narrow and deep development—fewer ideas with
more depth better than more ideas with less
depth
Building meaning from one idea to the next—
each idea enriched/enhanced by what came
before it
Writing—What Drives Scoring
28
DEVELOPMENT
What causes the worst development problems:
formulaic approaches (e.g., 5-paragraph
essays)—almost always result in a lack of
thoughtfulness, individuality, depth
ideas that are too complicated, abstract,
philosophical, or overly erudite for a student’s
writing skills
Remember
The best development is real, based on a student’s
own experiences and thinking about the world.
The Space Issue
29
The primary causes of space problems
Introductions that repeat the prompt, incorporate
an unnecessary framing device, or include preview
statements (average 5−9 lines)
Conclusions that simply repeat introduction
Weak organization: repetition, meandering, and
randomness
Use of “filler” (description, details, examples,
reasons) that doesn’t contribute to the quality of
the development
Remember
Using space effectively requires both planning and
revision!
Using Space Ineffectively
A 23-line Persuasive 2
30
I’ve lived in little ol’ _____, Texas my whole life. It’s one of
the smallest towns around here. And I love it.
First, there’s the train tracks, then there’s the old general
store, across from the post office. Near that is a odd shaped
builing that was supposed to be a car museum, but never
really made it. Down the road is the dump, where I rescued
my cat a few years ago.
The best part of living in a small town is my school. It’s
small, maybe 200 people. So you know everyones name. And
down the road from the school is Pete’s. It’s amazing. It is a
gas station and they have personal pan pizza.
Living in a small town gives me a sense of comuity,
Standing and cheering at a football game. That’s where it’s at.
It’s amazing to know that small towns still exist at this day in
age.
Making Space Work
A 19-line Persuasive 4
31
I’ve had the benefit of experiencing both a large city
and a small town. If given a choice between the two,
hands down I’d choose the city any day. Big cities
provide invaluable opportunities that small towns
can’t match to any degree.
In cities there is always something to do. When
boredom attacks, a person is never very far from
some sort of park/movie theatre/diner/something to
waste time. The mass of things around you in a city is
great. You can always rely on a city to give you what
you want. In a small town you can barely rely on a
grocery store to supply decent out-of-season fruit.
Making Space Work
An English II 19-line Persuasive 4
32
The people are the seller, though. In a city you meet
more people in a lifetime than you could ever count.
Each one different, too. Mean, nice, old, young,
interesting, dull − they each teach you a little
something about the world and they each teach you a
little more about yourself. I didn’t know how much I
valued books until a man on a bus challenged their
worth. That interaction taught me about a new side of
life.
Small towns have this supposed “charm,” but I think
cities have a charm − a better charm − all of their own.
They’re a place to enjoy yourself and bask in the glory
of life and all it entails.
CONTACT INFORMATION
33
Victoria Young
Director of Reading, Writing, and Social
Studies Assessments
Texas Education Agency
512-463-9536
victoria.young@tea.state.tx.us