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By Sage Admin, February 11, 2012 9:14 am

If you missed our 4th Annual Summer Expo at Vines High School on
Saturday, February 4, here is a list of our camps complete with a link to their
website so you can click their sites for more information.

You’ll see that our committee organized the camps in the following
categories:

GIFTED STUDENTS and General Education camps with accommodations
for Gifted Students

GENERAL EDUCATION STUDENTS

SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS and General Education camps with
accommodations for Sp. Ed. Students

Thanks again to all our parents who turned out for this event. We
estimate we had nearly 800 parents attend again this year – and many brought
their kiddos with them! Of course, a big THANK YOU to our vendors. They ALL
agree that this is one of the best Summer Expos they attend because of the
terrific turn out from terrific parents like YOU!

A big THANK YOU to our sponsor, The Medical Center of Plano for
their generous donation to cover our costs for this event. And to the Plano ISD
Council of PTAs who help us to promote this to all our district campuses.

Most of all, a big THANK YOU to our SAGE committee who diligently
pull this together year after year: Sandra Colston, SAGE Council Chairman;
Kelly Waterman, Communications, Cyndi Banish, 2012 Camp Committee Chair; Carol
Price, Committee Co-chair, and Teri Kachur, Webmaster.

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By Sage Admin, January 2, 2012 1:26 pm

Hello Friends:

I’m posting information directly from the TEA Website and from blogs and articles I’ve been reading about this new test.  Please read through this information carefully and then email us at SAGE@planopta.org and let us know if you would like more information.  We’ll do our best to keep you informed.  You can also follow us on Facebook and follow our discussion of this topic at https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SAGE-of-PISD/113622948676939

FROM THE TEA WEBSITE:

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/staar/

Beginning in spring 2012, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR™) will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The STAAR program at grades 3–8 will assess the same subjects and grades that are currently assessed on TAKS. At high school, however, grade-specific assessments will be replaced with 12 end-of-course (EOC) assessments: Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II, biology, chemistry, physics, English I, English II, English III, world geography, world history, and U.S. history.

The resources on this website provide information and sample test questions to familiarize Texas educators and the public with the design and format of the STAAR assessments. The information is intended to help educators understand how the new STAAR program measures the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. These resources are intended to support, not narrow or replace, the teaching of the TEKS curriculum.

FROM THE PARTNERS RESOURCE NETWORK:

TEA has posted two documents that give more information on STAAR testing.    One document is STAAR Time Limits Policies and Procedures.  (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/)
While it gives some specific information about time limits for students with and without disabilities (lunches, bathroom & other breaks, visits to nurses, and late arrivals), it does not clarify when a student with a disability qualifies for extra time and an extra day.  It refers readers to the Accommodations page (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/accommodations/staar-telpas/)  for eligibility and
decision-making procedures, but I do not find this information there.

The second document is Critical Information about Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Taking STAAR,STAAR Spanish, STAAR Modified, STAAR L, and TELPAS  (the STAAR L and TELPAS are for bilingual students).  This
can be found at:  http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/accommodations/staar-telpas/
This is a good summary of the accommodation process that parents need to understand.

It repeats previous TEA statements that accommodations on statewide tests are available “to:

•  student with an identified disability who receives special education
  services and meets established eligibility criteria for certain
  accommodations
• a student with an identified disability who receives Section 504 services
  and meets established eligibility criteria for certain accommodations
• a student with a disabling condition who does not receive special education
  or Section 504 services but meets established eligibility criteria for
  certain accommodations

For students who receive special education or Section 504 services, the decision for a
student to use accommodations during the statewide assessments is made by the
ARD committee or Section 504 placement committee. In those rare instances
where a student does not receive services but meets the eligibility criteria because of a disabling
condition, the decision about using accommodations on the assessments is made by the appropriate team of people at the campus level, such as the Response to Intervention (RTI) team or student assistance
team.”  (emphasis added)

The next section talks about the principles for deciding to use an accommodation in the
classroom.  The last principle says “should not be provided to a
student without evidence of effectiveness from year to year”.  It
continues saying “educators should continually collect and analyze data
pertaining to the use and effectiveness of accommodations so that informed
educational decisions can be made for each student. Such data could include
observational reports or assignment/test scores with and without the use of the
accommodation. Sometimes an accommodation becomes ineffective or inappropriate
over time due to the student’s age or changing needs. By analyzing data, an
educator may be able to see that the student has gained skills, overcome
weaknesses, or progressed in the curriculum and no longer needs the
accommodation. Or it may confirm for the educator that the student still
struggles in certain areas and should continue to use the
accommodation.”  Later, it states
that       “This means that it is acceptable
and appropriate to occasionally withhold an accommodation in order to confirm
(or deny) its effectiveness.”

Regarding the “routine” use of accommodations during instruction, on page 4 it
states “this does not mean that the accommodation must be used every day
during instruction.”

Information on using accommodations on testing days can also be of use to parents in
working with the school.

Remember that while these two documents compile useful information on accommodations,
other documents must be used to understand other parts of the process of
selecting a STAAR test for a specific student.