Education Service Center, Region 20 (ESC-20)

STAAR Alternate 2--Update to Participation Requirements

Must use new form beginning May 1, 2018!

New participation requirements to determine eligibility to take the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment were released in April 2018. According to TEA, ARD Committees MUST use the new participation requirements form for all state assessment decisions AFTER May 1, 2018.

All ARD Committees that made assessment determinations for the 2018-19 school year using the original form prior to May 1, 2018 do not have to reconvene for the sole purpose of using the new participation requirements form if the student was determined to be eligible to take the STAAR Alternate 2 assessment using the original form.

Key Changes:

1. More clarifying information for each eligibility criteria

2. Five eligibility criteria instead of four (additional criteria was an assurance on previous form)

3. Assessments that student will be taking are clustered by grade level for grades 3-8

The new form is located at TEA's STAAR Alternate 2 Resources page under the heading "STAAR Alternate 2 Test Administration Resources" (click on title to visit page).

For more information about the new form, please click here to access the information shared by TEA.

STAAR Alternate 2 Q & A updated 06/11/2018

This Q & A is a resource consisting of the most commonly asked questions we've received to date regarding STAAR Alternate 2.

House Bill 5 of the 83rd Legislative Session called for a redesign of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®) Alternate assessment. “The agency, in conjunction with appropriate interested persons, shall redevelop assessment instruments adopted or developed under Subsection (b) for administration to significantly cognitively disabled students in a manner consistent with federal law. An assessment instrument under this subsection may not require a teacher to prepare tasks or materials for a student who will be administered such an assessment instrument.”

The bill eliminates portfolio and performance-based assessments used by other states, because these types of assessments require the individualization of materials and task administration.
Therefore, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is implementing a standardized item-based assessment.
Allowable Accommodations for STAAR Alternate 2

STAAR Alternate 2 Resources

This link will provide you with resources such as Test Administrator resources, parent information, TEKS alignment documents, and data reports, among others. Texas Education Agency STAAR Alternate Resources page

STAAR Alternate 2 Performance Level Descriptors:

This link will provide a snapshot of students’ academic characteristics based on performance on a given STAAR Alternate 2 assessment. Texas Education Agency STAAR Alternate 2 Performance Level Descriptors page

STAAR Alternate 2 Raw Score Conversion:

This link will direct you to performance levels and the corresponding raw score range for previous years. Texas Education Agency STAAR Alternate 2 Raw Score Conversion Tables page
*Please remember raw score changes with each and every test administration*

STAAR Alternate 2 CSR Explanation for Parents:

After clicking this link, a document will open a to assist parents in understanding their child's Confidential Student report. Understanding Your Child’s Confidential Student Report (CSR)