TEA Posts Optional EOY Assessments, Updates to College Exams, & More

TEA announces a new optional EOY assessment that can be administered to students at home either online or in print, updates to College Prep assessments, and more on the new COVID-19 website:

Optional EOY Assessments FAQ dated April 21

This FAQ announces TEA’s new, state provided, optional end-of-year (EOY) assessments for spring 2020.

Key highlights include:

• The optional EOY assessments are built from previously released STAAR test questions and have been selected to align with the current STAAR blueprints and TEKS in place for 2019-2020.

• Students can access the online tests at home using a web browser. The online tests will be delivered via Pearson’s testing platform known as TestNav.

• Students who take the EOY assessment online will be able to see their test results immediately after submitting the test.

• Districts may also print PDF versions of the tests from the testing platform; however district staff will be responsible for scoring and reporting the results.

• TEA has scheduled a webinar for Tuesday, April 28, 2020 to provide more details.

• Important to note: “TEA will not use data from these assessments for any accountability purposes, and no results will be published by district or campus. Data will only be used to research the educational impact of the current crisis.”

Access the new EOY Assessment FAQ here.

SAT, ACT, TSIA, AP/IB FAQ updated April 21

Accountability and assessment experts will want to review this updated FAQ closely. Interesting to read that both SAT and ACT plan to provide “test-at-home” options in the event that schools do not reopen in the fall.

Access the SAT, ACT, TSIA, AP/IB FAQ here.

School Board FAQ dated April 16

ICYMI and you’re responsible for HB3 Board Goals…this update includes additional guidance on how districts should approach the goal setting requirement under HB3 without STAAR data for 2020.

Access the School Board FAQ here.

Members are encouraged to check the agency’s COVID-19 website daily for assessment and accountability updates.

Breaking News For Busy People

The COVID-19 slide: What summer learning loss can tell us about the potential impact of school closures on student academic achievement.

The new research from NWEA suggests that when students head back to school next fall, overall they are likely to retain about 70 percent of this year’s gains in reading, compared with a typical school year, and less than 50 percent in math.

NWEA’s projections certainly support TSA member districts communicating with local and state leaders the need for long-term academic recovery efforts. Read the NWEA research brief here.

UPDATE: Which States Have Closed School Buildings for the Academic Year?

A picture really is worth 1,000 words. Here is Education Week’s latest carto map, charts, and graphics showing School Closures: https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures.html 

As of today, 37 states, 3 U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia have ordered or recommended school building closures for the rest of the academic year, affecting approximately 40.7 million public school students.