I M P O R T A N T
N O T I C E
T O
P A R E N T S
Graduation Requirements Have Changed
What Wylie Parents Need to Know
About STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) Exams
Did you know that the State of Texas recently changed the requirements for graduation?
Did you know that students must pass EVERY EOC (15 in all to graduate)?
Starting with the freshmen of 2011-2012, STAAR has replaced TAKS as the state’s official test. The following explains how
these new tests will affect your student.
UnderstandIng
STAAR
EOC
Exams
Instead of taking one all-encompassing EXIT test for each core subject, students will now take a subjectspecific and more intensive end-of-course (EOC) exam at the end of each of these courses:
English I
English II
English III
Algebra I
Geometry
Algebra II
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
World Geography
World History
U.S. History
If your student is an 8th grader, freshman, or sophomore and is currently taking any of the courses listed
above, he/she will take EOC’s this coming March (for English) and May (for all other courses.) The importance
of these exams cannot be overstressed. Every STAAR EOC is an EXIT exam – a test that students must pass
in order to graduate.
GraduatIon RequIrements
To receive a diploma and to participate in graduation ceremonies, a student must:
Graduating Class
State Testing Requirements
Pass the following TAKS tests
2013-2014
Exit Level ELA
2015 and Beyond
(Current sophomores,
freshmen, and all
future classes to come)
Exit Level Math
Exit Level Science
Exit Level Social Studies
Meet the minimum standard on every EOC listed below and reach a
satisfactory cumulative score in each of the four content areas
(English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.)
English Language Arts
English 1 Reading
English 1 Writing
English 2 Reading
English 2 Writing
English 3 Reading
English 3 Writing
FaIlIng
That’ s 4!
Science
Social Studies
Algebra I
Biology
World Geography
Geometry
Chemistry
World History
Algebra II
Physics
U. S. History
Math
WOW
…
That’s
and RetestIng
If a student does not meet the satisfactory score for an EOC, he or she will be required to attend a summer
class and retake the test in July. Students will have multiple chances to retest; however, re-testing as close to
the time when the student was enrolled in the course greatly ups the chances that he/she will pass. In other
words, students should retest immediately so that the material will still be fresh in their minds.
Additionally, if a student does not pass the EOC in July, he may have to give up an elective class the following
year to be enrolled in an EOC review course. So, please encourage and support your student to do his very
best in his core classes so that he will be fully prepared to ace the EOC tests.
UnderstandIng
ScorIng
This is where it gets very tricky. STAAR actually takes all the scores from each subject area (English Language
Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies) and combines them into one cumulative score that determines if the
student will be allowed to graduate.
There are three scoring levels on EOC:
Level 1 - Unsatisfactory
Level 2 - Satisfactory
Level 3 - Advanced
Performance indicates that your
student is unlikely to succeed in
the next course without
significant intervention.
Performance indicates that your
student is likely to succeed in the
next course, but may need shortterm intervention.
Performance indicates that your
student has a high likelihood of
success in the next course with
little or no intervention.
If a student scores below a set minimum score in the Level 1 – Unsatisfactory range on the EOC, that score
cannot count toward the cumulative score and must be retaken. In Wylie, we are requiring any student whose
score does not fall in the Level 2 – Satisfactory range to retake their EOC at the next available opportunity.
CumulatIve
•
•
•
ScorIng - Let’s
use
ScIence
as
an
example:
A student graduating in 2015 will take science EOC’s in Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.
The Satisfactory Score in each of these EOC’s is 3500.
A student must therefore earn a cumulative score of 10,500 to graduate.
(The sum of the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics scores must equal 10,500, with none of the EOC
scores falling below the Minimum Score.)
See,… told you it’s tricky and it’s a lot to keep up with. It is now more important than
ever that every EOC is seen for what it is: a critical graduation requirement!
EOC’s Can
Impact
GraduatIon
1
2
43
The student must meet the minimum
score for the EOC to count for
graduation. If the minimum score isn’t
met, the EOC doesn’t count.
The student must have the required
cumulative score in each of the core
areas for the EOC’s to count toward
graduation.
Besides meeting the cumulative score in
each of the 4 content areas, students on the
Recommended Plan, which is the standard
graduation plan, must meet the satisfactory
standard on the Algebra II and English III EOC
assessments.
We‘re all In thIs
Your Student’s
In
4
4
Ways
A student’s score on the EOC will count
15% towards the student’s final grade in
the course. This impacts overall grades,
credits, etc.
STAAR EOC’s and Grading
When STAAR went into effect, the state required that the EOC
score count for 15% of a student’s final grade in a course.
However, that requirement was waived by the state last year.
When the state legislature meets in the spring of 2013, this
requirement will be up for discussion again. Wylie’s
Secondary Steering Committee has been working for over
two years in preparation for the 15% to factor into our
students’ grades. As soon as we have an
answer from the state, we
will let parents and students know
the effect that EOC will have on
grading in Wylie.
together!
As we navigate this new STAAR journey together, nothing is more important to us than the success of your
student. If you have further questions, please reach out to your campus principal, a counselor, a teacher, or
contact the Wylie ISD Curriculum & Instruction Division. We are here to answer your questions!