STAAR Accommodations

Accommodations can be so tricky to follow and know who gets what, especially when each student may get a different version of an accommodation to best fit their needs. What I will be showing you today is:

1. accessibility features that every student can have so that you make sure students are using those now if they need them.

2. Who can have designated supports based on their type of plan or disability.

3. What those supports look like within the cambium platform.

Accessibility Features

If you will look at this document, there are a couple of things I want to point out.

First of all, for my 3rd grade math teachers… If your students ask for you to read anything to them, you can! to any student! who asks….

So your students need to know this and need to be able to do this all year. It really is just a good practice and helps you to know your students even better and gives them practice to advocate for what they need. Some other things to note that students can have are whisper phones, sticky notes, blank paper, grid paper, and white boards. This document is a great read in full by any teacher who will be testing students.

Designated Supports

These supports are granted to students who have documented need. There are different committees that can approve certain types of supports for different student needs, such as an LPAC committee, ARD committee, 504 committee, or even the MTSS committee. I will link those documents here, but you will want to read them to see if you have a student who is already using an accommodation in your classroom qualifies to have it on STAAR.

• Basic Transcribing

• Braille and refreshable braille

• Calculation Aids - 5th grade teachers pay close attention to this one. Sometimes students can get this if they have a math learning disability or if are dyslexic and really have a documented deficit with remembering math calculations. Ask your testing coordinator if you have a student in mind.

• Content and Language Supports

• individualized structured reminders

• large print

• manipulating test materials

• mathematics manipulatives

• oral and signed administration

• spelling assistance

• supplemental aids

I have been a 504 coordinator and testing coordinator, so I know a lot about this, but every situation is so different and every campus is so different. If you have questions about whether a student would qualify for a testing accommodation, reach out to your testing coordinator and do it soon so that you can make sure you have the proper documentation in place.

What does it look like for the student?

You will really want to watch these two videos if you have any students who have text to speech. They will really need to practice how to maneuver that within the online platform.

Now that you are a staar redesign expert, I’ll see you next week when we talk about all things resources! Here’s a glimpse at what is coming your way! 3rd grade already has some up as I’m working on finishing up the rest. Find those here! My goal is to make your life as easy as possible as it relates to the redesign. Have a wonderful week!