Math STAAR Redesign- Question Types

So before we start talking about the new question types, let’s talk about why there was a need for redesigning staar. For as long as I can remember, there has been conversation around the fact that the staar test does not evaluate students like we teach. So teachers have had the ultimate dilemma of teaching best practices vs. teaching students in a way that they will be successful taking a long, monotonous, multiple choice assessment. When we have been trained as educators to look at the verbs within standards such as explain and represent. The staar test was holding students back to lower level verbs such as Identify and determine.

Redesigning the test is a way to better match our curriculum to the assessment they must take each year.

Here are the question types for all of the different content areas in elementary as published by tea.

Question Types in the staar redesign

As you can see, there are several question types that do not relate to math or elementary. I will be pulling example questions to show you what the stems will look like, along with exhibiting the variety of standards that could be assessed with each type. One thing to note is that these are all pulled from the practice platform, so if you plan to have students get on the practice platform, you should not expose them to these questions before. This is more for you as a teacher to get to analyze the question types as they are presented in varying ways with different standards.

1. Equation Editor

It is important to note that on the practice test, this one does not show up for 3rd or 4th grade even though this table shows it for 3-5. So i’m not sure if tea maybe wants to see how this one goes with 5th grade this year before it is rolled out to younger grade levels. The thing to notice about these questions is the type of keyboard that pops up for students. It is more complex than the text entry keyboard.

2. Text Entry

THe keypad on this type is simpler than on the equation editor. This question type appeared in 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Here are some examples below. This is what is replacing the griddables from prior staar tests.

3. Graphing

This type is not the only way that graphing is tested. I have found that there are also graphs in drag and drop, inline choice, hot spot, and multiselect. This one is different in that they are taking data and representing it on the graph.

4. Inline Choice

This type of question is one to practice with students for sure. It has a different type of problem solving component where that students may even need to try process of elimination. It really focuses in on vocabulary and the process that students take to solve.

5. Hot Spot

This question type is very versatile. The might only choose a spot on a graphic, or they may have to select two visuals that answer the question. You’ll see that in one instance, it even shows that this type can be used to represent an equivalent fraction with a set model. Students really have to analyze what the question is asking and answer in a way that uses representations and creates deeper critical thinking.

6. Fraction Model

Here’s where we get to the verb, represent. Students will also need to know what the numerator and denominator mean. I think one tricky part will be that it asks for the total number of parts first and then for the parts shaded. This may be confusing for students since it is in reverse of how a fraction is written.

7. Drag and Drop

There seem to be the most examples of the next two types of questions for the staar redesign. You will see again that this question type is not just for one type of standard. There are graphing questions, fractions, tables, equations, problem solving, etc. It can be as simple as moving a number to a table of a simple relationship to finding the right dimensions of a quadrilateral to equal a certain perimeter and area where students may need to solve four different problems. Students may use all of the answer options or have some left over.

8. Multiselect

And last, but not least, we have multiselect. This one I think is the easiest ones to embed within everything you do in the classroom. You can have students show multiple ways of thinking, multiple representations, and even use other student work to show them new ways to think about problems. It is important to note that this type of question is always worth 2 points. So in relation to tests from prior years, it would be like the worth of two separate questions. They can get partial credit if they answer at least 50 percent of the selections correct. They can only get the full two points if they accurately answer all pieces. I will go more into detail about scoring when we look at the blueprints. This type of question will also always tell them how many they will select. If they do not select enough, the platform will prompt them to check their answer. In the next post, when we talk about the practice platform, I will talk more about the features and technology implications that you can start teaching into now (even when they are not on the computer.)

Well, there you have it! This is a glimpse at what these question types are like. One thing to consider would be that many of these question types require deep thinking work. In order for students to be successful, they will need think time, they will need to learn how to productively struggle. They will need to find the value in the process, and not just in finding the answer. I hope this post was helpful for you. If you would like to share this post, please share to your social media or even share this curated document of the question types with teachers around you. I always want to find ways to make things as easy as possible for teachers and to save you time. We need you for the students you serve. You are loved, valued, and appreciated.

All of these question types were pulled from the tea website.