What’s new with STAAR in 2017 

The Texas Education Agency has redesigned the STAAR student report cards and revised the way your student’s performance is labeled on STAAR tests in grades 3-12.

Confidential Student Reports

The STAAR report card your child receives is known as the Confidential Student Report (CSR). These report cards are published for all students taking the STAAR each year. The CSR has been updated to improve communication and transparency with educators and families, as well as to create a more family-friendly report on student progress that highlights growth and improvement as much as proficiency. 

The new CSR includes the following:

  • Growth and progress data
  • A summer reading list
  • Lexile levels (measure of student’s reading ability) and trend data
  • New performance level descriptors
  • Resources and suggestions for parents to use at home
  • Suggested questions for parents to ask teachers and counselors

The new report cards will be available beginning June 13, 2017. Also on June 13, the TEA will launch a new CSR website that includes item-level analysis for each question on the STAAR, informational videos, and links to additional resources. For the first time, parents and teachers who log in will be able to see actual test questions from the current year’s STAAR exam.

To help parents and students better understand the new CSR, the TEA has created a website at http://tea.texas.gov/studentreport that includes:

  • Templates of the redesigned CSR for each grade level
  • A STAAR report video that gives an overview of the new CSR
  • A downloadable presentation
  • An annotated CSR example, with descriptions of each new section

STAAR Performance Labels

The TEA has revised the way it labels how your student performed on the STAAR in grades 3-12, and the new labels will be used in the results of STAAR tests that students took this spring. Previously, a student’s performance was labeled as Advanced, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory. The new labels are as follows:

  • Masters Grade Level: This level was previously known as Advanced. The TEA expects students at Masters Grade Level to succeed in the next grade or course with little or no academic intervention. Students in this category demonstrate the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts, both familiar and unfamiliar.
  • Meets Grade Level: Students at this performance level have a high likelihood of success in the next grade or course but may still need some short-term, targeted academic intervention. Students in this category generally demonstrate the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts.
  • Approaches Grade Level: This level was previously known as Satisfactory. Students at this level have met the assessment requirements for purposes of Student Success Initiative grade promotion and graduation and are considered to have met at least the minimum passing standard. A student achieving Approaches Grade Level is likely to succeed in the next grade or course with targeted academic intervention. Students in this category generally demonstrate the ability to apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts.
  • Does Not Meet Grade Level: This performance category applies to students scoring below Approaches Grade Level. Students at this level have not passed, since performance at this level indicates a student is unlikely to succeed in the next grade or course without significant, ongoing academic intervention. Students in this category do not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the assessed knowledge and skills.

For additional information on the new student report cards and performance labels, please visit www.HoustonISD.org/STAAR and click on What’s new in 2017. You may also contact your child’s principal.