Type

2

Oral/Signed Administration

Description of Accommodation

This accommodation allows a test administrator to provide reading support, through speech and/or signing, to a student with a disability.

Note: All references to reading support during an oral administration also apply to signing during a signed administration.

Assessments

For a student who meets the eligibility criteria, this accommodation may be used on ONLY

• STAAR, STAAR Spanish, and STAAR Modified Reading (grades 3–8, English I, English II, and English III*)

✓ Test questions, answer choices, and required reference materials (as applicable) may be read aloud to a student

✗ Reading selections may NEVER be read aloud to a student• STAAR, STAAR Spanish, STAAR L, and STAAR Modified

- Mathematics (grades 3–8, Algebra I, geometry, and Algebra II*)✓ Test questions, answer choices, and required reference materials may be read aloud

to a student - Science (grades 5 and 8, biology, chemistry*, and physics*)

✓ Test questions, answer choices, and required reference materials (as applicable) may be read aloud to a student

- Social Studies (grade 8, world geography, world history*, and U.S. history*)✓ Test questions and answer choices may be read aloud to a student

• STAAR and STAAR Modified Writing (grade 7, English I, English II, and English III*)✓ Required reference materials may be read aloud to a student✗ Revising and editing passages, test questions, and answer choices may NEVER be

read aloud to a student

* Not available on STAAR Modified

Student Eligibility Criteria

A student may use this accommodation if he or she

� routinely and effectively uses this accommodation during classroom instruction and testing, and

� meets at least one of the following.•The student receives special education services and is identified with dyslexia or has

evidence of reading difficulties.•The student receives Section 504 services and is identified with dyslexia or has

evidence of reading difficulties.•The student does not receive special education or Section 504 services but is

identified with dyslexia.

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Oral/Signed Administration

Authority for Decision and Required Documentation

•For a student receiving special education services, the decision is made by the ARD committee based on the eligibility criteria and is documented in the student’s IEP.

•For a student receiving Section 504 services, the decision is made by the placement committee based on the eligibility criteria and is documented in the student’s IAP.

•For a student not receiving special education or Section 504 services, the decision is made by the appropriate team of people at the campus level (e.g., RTI team, student assistance team) based on the eligibility criteria and is documented according to district policies.

•In the case of an ELL with a disability, the decision should be made by the applicable group above in conjunction with the student’s LPAC. The decision is to be documented by the LPAC in the student’s permanent record file and by the other applicable group, as described above.

•After statewide testing, OA must be recorded under Type 2 in the ACCOMMODATIONS field on the student’s answer document or in the Assessment Management System for online administrations, if applicable.

No Accommodation Request Form required.

ARF

Examples/Types

Oral administration can include different levels of reading support for each eligible student. The test administrator may

•read parts of the test questions and/or answer choices at student request•read all test questions and answer choices throughout the test

It is the responsibility of the appropriate team of people at the campus level (e.g., ARD committee, Section 504 placement committee, RTI team, student assistance team) to determine eligibility and document the level of reading support the student needs in the appropriate student paperwork. A student may request a change to the level of reading support provided during testing only if this option is documented. It is important to remember that the test administrator may NEVER read aloud the reading selections from reading tests or the revising and editing passages, test questions, or answer choices from writing tests.

Special Instructions/Considerations

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Oral/Signed Administration Guidelines

1. A student who uses this accommodation may need to complete the test in a separate setting to eliminate distractions to other students and to ensure the confidentiality of the test. Testing in a separate setting for this purpose is not considered the Individual or Small-Group Administration accommodation.

2. A test may be orally administered to a small group provided that every student in the small group is eligible for an oral administration. It is the responsibility of the district/

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campus to determine the most appropriate way to group students in order to provide a proper test administration.

3. Test administrators must understand which parts of each subject-area test may be read aloud.a. For reading tests, only the questions and answer choices may be read aloud to an

eligible student. The student must read the selection first. When the student has finished reading the selection, the test administrator may read aloud each test question and then read the answer choices. The test questions and answer choices must be read aloud in the order they are presented. The reading selections may NEVER be read aloud to a student.

b. For mathematics, science, and social studies tests, any part of the test may be read aloud to an eligible student. This applies to words in the questions and the answer choices, including words in graphics (e.g., table, graph, grid, diagram, map, photograph, cartoon, or picture). The test administrator must read aloud the test questions and answer choices in the order they are presented. The test question must be read aloud prior to reading the answer choices.

c. For writing tests, an oral administration is NEVER allowed for any part of the revising and editing passages, questions, or answer choices. However, reading aloud the writing prompt is an optional test administration procedure. More information about reading aloud the writing prompt can be found in the “Optional Test Administration Procedures and Materials” document on the Accommodations for Students with Disabilities webpage.

d. Required reference materials may be read aloud to an eligible student. This includes the dictionary during reading and writing tests, as well as the state-supplied mathematics and science reference materials.

e. Allowable accommodations may be read aloud to an eligible student. This includes a dictionary or supplemental aid.

4. For any student in grade 3, reading assistance on the mathematics test is an optional test administration procedure in which the test administrator may read any part of a mathematics test question or answer choice at a student’s request. However, if a grade 3 student needs the entire mathematics test read aloud, the eligibility criteria for Oral Administration must be met. More information about reading assistance on the grade 3 mathematics test can be found in the “Optional Test Administration Procedures and Materials” document on the Accommodations for Students with Disabilities webpage.

5. Reading, writing, English I, English II, and English III are not assessed with STAAR L. For STAAR L, ELLs may qualify for reading assistance as a linguistic accommodation. If an ELL taking STAAR L has a disability and meets the eligibility criteria, the student may also qualify for an oral administration.

Test Administrator Responsibilities

6. An oral administration must be conducted by a trained test administrator who has signed the “Oath of Test Security and Confidentiality for Test Administrator.” This includes the bottom section of the oath for test administrators who are authorized to view secure statewide assessments. Responding to test questions, making notes about test questions, and discussing the content of the test at any time are prohibited.

7. Test administrators must be trained in the procedures specific to an oral administration. Guidelines for reading aloud various types of test questions can be found in the “Oral/Signed Administration” appendix of the appropriate test administrator manuals.

8. Test administrators may read aloud any word, phrase, or sentence in the test questions and answer choices as many times as needed.

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Oral/Signed Administration

9. Test administrators must be familiar with content-specific terms and symbols associated with the subject-area tests. This will ensure that the test is administered accurately.

10. Test administrators must not rephrase, clarify, or interpret any test content. 11. Test administrators must keep their voice inflection neutral, although words that are

boldfaced, italicized, or printed entirely in capital letters must be emphasized. 12. Unauthorized verbal and nonverbal assistance may not be provided to students. 13. Test administrators must be made aware of the different levels of reading support that

can be provided during an oral administration. For each student receiving an oral administration, the test administrator must know which level of reading support the student is to receive and whether the student can change the level of reading support during testing, based on the documentation in the student’s paperwork.

14. If conducting a signed administration to students who are deaf or hard of hearing, test administrators should also read the specific guidelines for signing test content included in the document titled “General Instructions for Administering Statewide Assessments to Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing,” located on the Accommodation for Students with Disabilities webpage.

•Student Scenarios

Below are student scenarios that are intended to clarify who is eligible to receive an oral administration as an accommodation on applicable statewide assessments. These scenarios do not address every situation in which a student may or may not receive an oral administration as a testing accommodation. Additional scenarios will be provided as needed to address feedback received from educators.

1. Tanesha is an eighth grade student who is eligible for special education services as speech impaired. She has difficulty comprehending what she reads independently; however, orally presenting written material to her is effective. Tanesha’s scores on reading comprehension assignments are dramatically higher when questions and answers are presented orally versus read independently. Teacher observations also indicate that Tanesha answers comprehension questions more accurately during classroom discussions of grade-level texts. Can Tanesha have an oral administration on the STAAR grade 8 assessments?

Yes. Tanesha routinely and effectively uses this accommodation in the classroom, receives special education services, and has evidence of reading difficulties. However, only the test questions and answer choices from each assessment may be read aloud. The reading selections from the reading assessment may never be read aloud to students.

2. Nathan is a fourth grade student not receiving special education or Section 504 services. He struggles with decoding when reading grade-level texts, but he has not been identified with dyslexia. His teacher reports that Nathan’s comprehension improves when material is read aloud to him. Can Nathan have an oral administration on the STAAR grade 4 assessments?

No. Students who do not receive special education or Section 504 services must be identified with dyslexia in order to meet the eligibility criteria for oral administration.