Waiting for STAAR results? Here's what to know

The school year is coming to a close, but families still have a few weeks to wait to see how students performed on state assessments.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, known commonly as STAAR, is Texas’s testing program. The tests measure what students learn each year in reading, writing, math, science and social studies and determine whether a student is ready for the next grade level.

Students in grades 3-8 took STAAR tests this spring. Students in high school-level English I, English II, Algebra, Biology and U.S. History courses also take end-of-course exams.

Families can expect to start seeing results in June.

The STAAR test was redesigned last year to incorporate more open-ended questions . The state has also recently introduced automated scoring by computers for open-ended written response questions.

Computers will grade this year's written responses, with a quarter of responses rescored by humans.

When can families expect assessment results?

School districts will receive preliminary results from the Texas Education Agency at the end of May.

Corpus Christi ISD plans to share these preliminary results through a letter to families around the first week of June. The letter will also explain how families can access full results online once made available by the state in June.

"The Texas Assessment portal is really informational," CCISD senior director of assessment and accountability Sonia Zyla said. "A parent can go in and see exactly what their student answered on the assessment."

Over the summer, the state will also share comparative data allowing families to compare their students' results to others in the state, as well as resources and suggested activities that students can do over the summer to improve.

Results from 2024 end-of-course, or EOC, assessments will be available to families online through the Texas Assessment portal on Friday, June 7.

Results from grades 3-8 STAAR tests will be available online starting Friday, June 14.

Eligible students with significant cognitive disabilities take the STAAR Alternate 2. Results for this assessment will be available Thursday, June 20.

Emergent bilingual students also take the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System assessment. TELPAS results will be available Wednesday, June 12. TELPAS Alternate results for emergent bilingual students with significant cognitive disabilities were made available May 14.

For students taking a summer end-of-course assessment in June, results will be available Friday, Aug. 2.

Families will be able to log in at TexasAssessment.gov using a unique student access code to view EOC results, including how the student answered test questions.

The unique access code is printed on student’s state report card. Schools can also share student access codes.

Corpus Christi ISD also links to the state assessment website through the Home Access Center portal, where the district shares student grades.

What do STAAR results mean?

With the STAAR test, student results are grouped into four performance levels — did not meet grade level, approaches grade level, meets grade level and masters grade level.

A student who did not meet grade level lacks basic understanding of course content and will need "significant" support in the next school year, according to the TEA.

A student who approaches grade level shows some knowledge of course content, but may be missing "critical elements." These students may need additional support in the next school year. "Approaches" is considered a passing performance level.

A student who meets grade level shows "strong" knowledge of course content and is prepared for the next grade.

A student who masters grade level shows "mastery" of course content and is on track for college and career readiness.

How are STAAR results used?

Schools use STAAR results to determine if a student might need extra tutoring or enrichment.

Texas law requires that students who do not meet grade level be provided with accelerated instruction. Last spring, the Texas Legislature approved a bill that modified tutoring requirements.

Under the current law, students who do not meet expectations should be assigned a Texas Incentive Allotment-designated teacher for the next school year in the applicable subject level or should be provided with supplemental instruction, including targeted instruction aligned with research on high impact tutoring.

The supplemental instruction should total between 15 and 30 hours depending on student performance, provided in the summer or at least once per week during the school year.

In Corpus Christi ISD, students are invited to summer learning programs based on other assessments throughout the year that typically predict STAAR performance. The district has also offered an after-school program and Saturday tutoring.

Additionally, another state law requires schools to develop an advanced math program for middle school students who perform in the top 40 percent on the fifth grade math STAAR assessment. These students will be given the opportunity to enroll in an advanced math course in sixth grade, putting them on track to take Algebra I in eighth grade.

STAAR results also have implications for schools and school districts when it comes to state accountability ratings.

In recent years, the state has assigned each public school district and campus an A-F rating based in part on student STAAR performance. But ratings expected in fall 2023 have not yet been released due to a pending lawsuit.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Waiting for STAAR results? Here's what to know