Housekeeping Items

Thank you to Christina Trotter, TSNAP president & Irving ISD, Carin Adermann, Northside ISD, and Keith Haffey, Spring Branch ISD for sharing up-to-date information during our recent DTC & Accountability meeting. We gained new insights about remote learners and state testing from each of you!

The next TSA DTC & Accountability ZOOM meeting is scheduled for Friday, October 23 from 10 – 11am. Please let your DTC know about the meeting and stay tuned for more details!

Updates

TSA submitted written testimony to the House Public Education Committee regarding interim charges 1A – HB3 related to the STAAR readability study and 1B – HB 22 aligning accountability rules with legislative intent. Read TSA’s testimony here.

TEA UPDATES AS OF OCTOBER 6, 2020

2021 Accountability Development Update

In recent weeks, TEA has released the following information that impacts 2021 accountability ratings:

2020-21 School Start Window

Students served in the prior year must return to school by the end of the school start window to not be considered leavers. On September 17, TEA announced that for the 2020-21 school year, the school-start window is extended from the first day of school through October 30, 2020 to “accommodate LEAs that have opened late because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read TEA’s announcement here.

Counts of Economically Disadvantaged Students

For the 2020-21 school year, TEA is allowing districts to document low-income students until the PEIMS Fall Resubmission closes on January 14, 2021. This extension is welcome news for both school finance and accountability calculations. NOTE: students must be enrolled in the district by the Fall Snapshot Date (October 30) and identified as low-income by the Fall Resubmission Date (January 14, 2021.)

Read TEA’s FAQ here (see page 37, question 12).

STAAR EOC COVID-19 Waiver List

TEA announced on September 24 that the agency will not provide districts with a list of students who qualified for the STAAR EOC COVID-19 waiver last year because the agency “does not have the authority to access TREx data or sufficient student records to make accurate determinations.”

Instead, districts must determine which students were eligible for the 2020 waiver using their own student information systems, and TEA recommends that “districts and charter schools refer to student transcripts or academic achievement records (AAR). A new code, 2020 Waived, was added to the STAAR performance level code table (TC31) in the Texas Records Exchange (TREx) system.” NOTE: districts were required to indicate on the transcript or in the AAR the “2020 Waived” code for students for whom the STAAR EOC assessment requirement was waived, as per the assessment guidance issued in spring 2020.

Read TEA’s announcement here.

Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA) 2.0

The TEA Performance Reporting newsletter on Friday, October 2, includes an important update on Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s TSIA 2.0. The new assessment includes an integrated reading and writing section. During the transition from 1.0 to 2.0, CCMR calculations will “acknowledge results across both versions. For students who took the original version (TSIA), the criteria that was adopted at that time will be used for college readiness determinations. For students taking the new version (TSIA 2.0), the newly adopted criteria will be used.”

For more information, visit the Texas Success Initiative and Development Education website.

Results Driven Accountability (RDA)

Formerly known as PBMAS, the new 2020 RDA framework includes several key changes including the consolidation, expansion, and elimination of program-specific components in addition to indicator changes.

On September 24 TEA announced the following:

October 13, 2020: The Department of Review and Support will provide an overview of the 2020 RDA Framework and the criteria used to select districts for 2020-21 continuous improvement activities. To register for the upcoming webinar, please visit https://bit.ly/32DrkM5.

On or Before October 16, 2020: Descriptions of the criteria that were used to select districts for 2020-21 interventions will be available on the program-specific interventions and guidance pages found on the Department of Review and Support webpage.

October 16, 2020: The 2020-21 determination levels for the bilingual education/English as a second language (BE/ESL/EL), other special populations (OSP), and special education (SPED) program areas will be available through the Ascend application in the Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL).

THECB Retains National Student Clearinghouse Data Tracker

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) announced on September 22 that the agency has retained Student Tracker Premium data services from the National Student Clearinghouse for summer 2020 through summer 2022. Read THECB’s announcement here. 

TEA Adopts Emergency Rules for 1st Gr. Dyslexia Screening

Breaking News: STAAR returns in 2021 and other takeaways on the state of Texas education

Sept. 18, 2020: During a virtual meeting with the Dallas Regional Chamber on the state of education, Commissioner Morath said he expects STAAR and accountability back for 2020-21. Read the Dallas Morning News article here.

THIS IS NOT A TEST, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY

Oct. 1, 2020: The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment collaborates with the Chief State School Officers (CSSOs) on statewide assessment and accountability policies.

The seven-page (easy-to-read) policy brief recognizes that it will be “incredibly challenging” to collect, interpret, and use high-quality state standardized test data this school year and offers practical recommendations for 2020-21.

Spoiler alert: the group believes that school, teacher and student accountability should be suspended for 2020-21.

Read the policy brief here.