state of texas assessments of academic readiness (staar ® ) grades 3 8 reading grades 4 and 7...

State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®)

Grades 38 ReadingGrades 4 and 7 Writing

English I and II

Victoria YoungDirector of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies AssessmentsTexas Education Agency

Grade 4 Expository Statewide Distributions2013 2014

2

2013 ExpositorySummed Scores


1/1 = 2 21% 1/1 = 2 17%

1/2 = 3 17% 1/2 = 3 14%

2/2 = 4 36% 2/2 = 4 38%

2/3 = 5 15% 2/3 = 5 15%

3/3 = 6 8% 3/3 = 6 11%

3/4 = 7 2% 3/4 = 7 3%

4/4 = 8 1% 4/4 = 8 1%

Grade 7 Expository Statewide Distributions2013 2014

3



1/1 = 2 10% 1/1 = 2 10%

1/2 = 3 13% 1/2 = 3 13%

2/2 = 4 35% 2/2 = 4 44%

2/3 = 5 21% 2/3 = 5 17%

3/3 = 6 14% 3/3 = 6 10%

3/4 = 7 5% 3/4 = 7 3%

4/4 = 8 2% 4/4 = 8 1%

English I Expository Statewide Distributions2013 2014 (First-time Testers)

4



1/1 = 2 18% 1/1 = 2 7%

1/2 = 3 18% 1/2 = 3 8%

2/2 = 4 35% 2/2 = 4 39%

2/3 = 5 14% 2/3 = 5 21%

3/3 = 6 9% 3/3 = 6 18%

3/4 = 7 3% 3/4 = 7 4%

4/4 = 8 1% 4/4 = 8 1%

English II Persuasive Statewide Distributions2013 2014 (First-time Testers)

5

2013 PersuasiveSummed Scores

2014 PersuasiveSummed Scores

1/1 = 2 4% 1/1 = 2 7%

1/2 = 3 6% 1/2 = 3 9%

2/2 = 4 34% 2/2 = 4 32%

2/3 = 5 23% 2/3 = 5 21%

3/3 = 6 24% 3/3 = 6 20%

3/4 = 7 6% 3/4 = 7 6%

4/4 = 8 2% 4/4 = 8 3%

Score Point 2—Basic Writing

General Characteristics Essay is generally responsive to the task, but

writer often uses organizational strategies that aren’t very effective (e.g., organizing the development in unrelated clusters or using a “flip-side” approach).

Controlling idea or position statement is evident, but it is often weak because it is too general or broad to serve as a good central “anchor” for the development.

6


General Characteristics Writer takes a long time (and often a lot of

space) to get into the actual explanation or argument.

Some sentences don’t contribute to the development or contribute only marginally.

Some connection problems are evident as the writer moves from sentence to sentence or idea to idea (or both)—the result of a variety of writing weaknesses (repetition, wordiness, “out of order” ideas, lack of transitions, perfunctory transitions).

7


General Characteristics Development is often superficial because the

writing is too general, too brief, or too partial. Formulaic approaches also keep the writing from having depth or thoughtfulness.

Writer often uses general, imprecise language—which always affects the reader’s ability to understand the point of the writing.

Sentences tend to be uncontrolled, and conventions tend to be glitchy.

8

Score Point 2—An Example at Grade 4

My favorite place to spend time is school. I like school because you learn and you get to see your friends. My favorite subject in school is science. In science we are learning about African dwarf frogs. Did you know that the frogs have to stay in the water or else they will not survive? I also like social studies. We are learning about the texas cattle drives. Before we got to frogs I appsolutly didn’t know anything about them exept they have long tonges. Now I know a bunch of stuff about frogs. Frogs lay their eggs in a bunch. I think frogs are cool and fun too! I think some teachers get to school at about 6:30 A.M. just to get the day ready for the students. Do you know what I can’t believe is that I don’t think my sister likes school. I love school!

9

Score Point 2—An Example at Grade 7

Have you ever laughed at something that was funny? If you have do you think it is important to laugh? Sometimes it is good to laugh like when somebody tells a joke, or does something funny. There are also some things that you don’t laugh at like funerals, car wrecks, and when somebody is in the hospital. It is important to laugh because it shows you have a sense of humor or that you’re not a boring person. People also make you laugh when you are feeling bad about yourself to try to make you cheer up. Sometimes laughing can be a bad thing if you laugh at somebody you can hurt there feelings. It is important to laugh because if you don’t laugh you just go along you’re life feeling sad or mad, always depressed and never having fun. I think people need to laugh sometimes just to have fun.

10

Score Point 2—An Example at English I

Motivation is the outcome of failure in my eyes. When you fail at something, that should be your cue to motivate to try again till you get it. My motto has always been, “If your not first your last.” Once again nobody is perfect.

“Every expert was once a beginner,” says Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth didn’t get baseball right off the back he practiced sometimes failed but failure motivated him to be one of the greatest players to step on a baseball field.

The Apollo missions took until the 8 mission to make it. A failure after another but motivation kept them going that’s determination on another

11

Score Point 2—An Example at English I

level. The scientists behind the missions were not going to the road get bumpy. “Success was the only option, failure’s not,” says Eminem.

Lance Armstrong won several Tour de France. Then he was diagnosed with several cancers. Everyone thought failure was coming through his head, but came back to win seven more Tour de France.

Not everybody can be Babe Ruth or be in a Apollo mission or be Lance Armstrong. These legends are not perfect they failed at one time in the careers and definitely throughout their lifes. Let motivation over power failure, it can take you a long way.

12

Score Point 2—An Example at English II

Learning something that nearly every person wants to do. Learning is something that cant be taken for granted some people don’t even get to go to school where they live. Yet there are people dropping out and quitting school. I believe that everyone needs a good edjucation it can only lead to good things in your life.

Look at some of the important people throughout history who made a difference with their knowledge. For example Albert Einstein a man with a brilliant mind whose theroys and work are still used in teaching to this very day. He is just one example of what a person cand do with

13

Score Point 2—An Example at English II

enough knowledge.

Just think of what you can do if you get a good edjucation and try hard enough. For all we know you, me, or anyone could do great things with the knowledge we gain. So all in all get a good edjucation because knowledge truly is power.

14

Reading—The Four Big Skills

Understanding Author’s Craft—being able to identify the “tools” an author uses to craft a piece and to pinpoint/ articulate how they affect meaning.

Making Connections—being able to make connections both within and across texts at differing levels of depth and complexity (including making connections between a text and its accompanying photograph or procedural piece).

15

Reading—The Four Big Skills

Having a Command of Academic Vocabulary—being able to apply the specific academic vocabulary associated with literary and informational reading.

Using Text Evidence—being able to “stay inside the text” and find and use text evidence to confirm the validity of an idea both within and across texts.

16

Author’s Craft—Elementary

Grade 4 Drama—question 22

The playwright creates a surprise by —

*A. giving Carter’s cousin a name that can be used for a boy 57%

B. revealing that David can’t play in the tournament 23%

C. allowing Sam to make up the rules of the challenge 8%

D. having Carter’s cousin come to visit for two weeks 12%

17

Author’s Craft—Middle School

Grade 7 Expository—question 20

In paragraph 3, the author uses the example of the 3,000-year-old house in Tanis to —

A. prove that satellites are constantly takingphotographs to locate ancient cities 22%

B. demonstrate that sites once thought to be fictionalhave been proved to exist 24%

*C. emphasize that satellite photography is powerful enough to find a single building 43%

D. suggest that previously discovered sites may be much older than originally thought 11%

18

Author’s Craft—High School

English I Fiction—question 20

The ball drops to the ground at the

boy’s feet. It lies there stunned,

quivering, containing flight beneath

its smooth skin.

Why does the author use personification in this quotation?

A. The baseball game symbolizes the love of the family. 8%

*B. The description mimics the boy’s disappointment. 60%

C. The author is comparing a ball to a bird. 12%

D. The author is showing the distance the ball has traveled. 20%

19

Making Connections—Elementary

Grade 5 pair—question 38

Bristlecone pines benefit from their roots in the same way that wood frogs benefit from —

A. fallen leaves 6%

B. the temperature of the environment 28%

*C. the ability to freeze 62%

D. the other animals in the area 3%

20

Making Connections—Middle School

Grade 6 Fiction—question 5

The qualities Brian is described as having in paragraph 6 are most closely related to those associated with the —

*A. logical side of Sophie’s mother 52%

B. dreamy side of Sophie’s father 6%

C. hardheaded side of Sophie 25%

D. good side of Uncle Dock 18%

21

Making Connections—High School

English II Persuasive—question 48

What does the boxed information on constructive criticism have in common with the reading selection?

A. It emphasizes the importance of defending yourself when you have been criticized. 12%

B. It reminds readers that different kinds of people respond differently to criticism. 21%

*C. It offers specific pieces of advice for the reader to use. 61%

D. It employs the viewpoint of a sympathetic first-person narrator. 5%

22

Academic Vocabulary—Elementary

Grade 5 Fiction—question 23

Which sentences best help to create suspense in the story?

A. “They’d come to $3.22,” she reported. “Shall I ring them up for you?” 12%

*B. I hurried to the school supply station. The pencils were gone. 70%

C. I looked toward the counter. She held up a set of pencils. 10%

D. I dumped the coins out onto the counter. “Just right,” she announced. 8%

23

Academic Vocabulary—Middle School

Grade 6 Drama—question 46

Why are the stage directions at the end of Scene 3 important?

*A. They tell the reader that the nightingale abandons the emperor. 56%

B. They allow the reader to appreciate the beauty of the mechanical nightingale. 9%

C. They help the reader visualize the comfortable surroundings the emperor enjoys. 22%

D. They let the reader recognize the difference between the two nightingales. 13%

24

Academic Vocabulary—Middle School

Grade 8 Persuasive—question 33

The author supports the article’s premise by providing —

A. testimonials from students who have had success with online education 10%

*B. examples of how online classes are improving education 70%

C. statistics from various schools that offer online classes 16%

D. quotations from people who have been involved in organizing online classes 4%

25

Academic Vocabulary—High School

English II Poetry—question 40

In the first 12 lines of the poem, the poet uses imagery to describe —

*A. a world apart from human culture 64%

B. a hostile environment of predators and prey 14%

C. an ancient pre-human landscape 7%

D. a community of anthropomorphic animals 14%

26

Text Evidence—Elementary

Grade 3 Poem—question 28

In the poem, which words help the reader imagine the speaker’s experience —

A. And I thought to myself 21%

B. those things upon my back 10%

C. with great big trusting eyes 14%

*D. the cool of the gentle breeze 55%

27

Text Evidence—Middle School

Grade 8 Persuasive—question 35

Which sentence supports the belief that online education will be more widespread in the future?

A. Students involved in extracurricular activities, those who have been hospitalized, or those who are behind in earning required credits can meet their educational needs though enrollment in online classes. 19%

*B. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan believes so strongly in virtual education that he helped budget $500 million for the development of online precollege and college courses over the next 10 years. 59%

C. A 2009 Department of Education report suggests that students enrolled in online classes performed better than those in traditional schools. 14%

D. This “classroom” experience is far different that anything they did in school. 2%

28

Text Evidence—High School

English I Literary Nonfiction—question 48

In which line from the article does the author reveal how she would like others to respond to her lack of hearing?

A. I had always hated to be seen as inferior, so I never mentioned my lack of hearing. 20%

B. If I tell, people will see only my disability. 15%

C. Unlike a wheelchair or a white cane, my disability doesn’t announce itself. 13%

*D. It’s a tender part, and you should handle it with care. 51%

29

STAAR Short Answer QuestionsWhat They Require

Students must generate a credible IDEA in response to a question about a text or texts.

An IDEA represents the quality and depth of the student’s thinking and understanding.

30

STAAR Short Answer QuestionsWhat They Require

Students must use TEXT EVIDENCE to prove that their ideas are valid/credible.

TEXT EVIDENCE substantiates the student’s ideas; it reflects the degree to which the student can connect his or her own ideas with the pieces of the text that best support the analysis.

31

STAAR Short Answer

English I Single Selection—Spring 2014

After reading “Hearing the Sweetest Songs,” do you think the author considers herself disabled? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the selection.

32

STAAR Short Answer

Score Point 0:

I think the author considers herself disabled but she believes eventually everyone will have some sort of disability. She states this when she says, “We’re all just temporarily abled and everyone of us, if we live long enough, will become disabled in some way.

33

STAAR Short Answer

Score Point 1:

In the short story, “Hearing the Sweetest Songs”, I think in a sense, the author knows shes disabled in her hearing but doesn’t want to be treated different. She wants to be treated just like someone who is abled. “I wanted to listen to Beethoven.”

34

STAAR Short Answer

Score Point 2:

After reading “Hearing the Sweetest Songs,” I don’t think the author considers herself disabled. For example when the author says, “We’re all just temporarily abled, and everyone of us, if we live long enough, will become disabled in some way.” it shows that she believes disabilities are natural and it will happen to everyone in time.

35

STAAR Short Answer

Score Point 3:Though the author does state that she has a disability, it

can still be said that she doesn’t consider herself disabled. The author acknowledges having a disability by claiming that “like most people with a disability, [she doesn’t] mind if you ask about it.” But having a disability doesn’t mean she is completely disabled. She states that she is also “a writer, a painter, a… housekeeper” and “a gardener who grows wondrous roses.” Though she may not be able to hear, she can still do the same things that others with hearing can. The author’s lack of hearing is “an important part” of her and adds to her character. In her eyes, that doesn’t make her believe she is disabled.

36

CONTACT INFORMATION

Victoria YoungDirector of Reading, Writing, and Social

Studies AssessmentsTexas Education Agency

[email protected]

37

state of texas assessments of academic readiness (staar ® ) grades 3 8 reading grades 4 and 7...

Documents