Defer 15% Requirement?

Defer 15% Requirement?

Commissioner Scott announced on Wednesday, February 22, that school districts have the option of deferring, for a year, the application of the 15% requirement for the STAAR EOC assessment.  As stated in the House Bill 3 Transition Plan Highlights: “The STAAR EOC assessment scores will account for 15% of a student’s final grade in the course…To graduate under STAAR, a student must achieve a cumulative score that is at least equal to the product of the number of EOC assessments taken in each foundation content area (English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies) and a scale score that indicates satisfactory performance.”  To read more on the highlights of the House Bill 3 Transition Plan, please visit the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/hb3plan/.  There are 12 end-of-course exams that are affected by the STAAR 15% requirement, they are Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, English I, English II, English III, World Geography, World History, and U.S. History.  The STAAR assessment applies to all students entering ninth grade in the 2011-2012 school year.

Robert Scott said in his letter to administrators that he hopes to “help reduce some of the confusion and provide a smoother transition to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR).”  In order for school districts to take advantage of this opportunity, the Superintendent or someone authorized by the superintendent must submit an email to the commissioner letting him know of the decision to defer the 15% EOC requirement no later than May 1^st.  To read the full letter from the commissioner, please visit the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=2147505601.

Is your school district prepared for the STAAR test?  Will you be electing to start the end-of-course 15% of a student’s final grade requirement this year or will you be deferring this till the 2012-2013 school year?