• State Assessment Descriptors
     
    STAAR
    The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, began in spring 2012 with increased rigor for both the assessments and the performance standards.  The STAAR program at grades 3-8 assesses the same grades and subjects as were assessed on TAKS.  For high school, there are five STAAR end-of-course (EOC) assessments.  STAAR Spanish is available for grades 3-5.    
     
    STAAR Alternate 2
    STAAR Alternate is designed for the purpose of assessing students in grades 3-8 and high school who have significant cognitive disability and are receiving special education services. Additionally, students must meet participation requirements. 
      
    TELPAS
    The TELPAS assessment is designed to assess the progress that limited English proficient (LEP) students make in learning the English language. 
     
    TELPAS Alternate TEA has developed the TELPAS Alternate assessment to meet the federal requirements mandated under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which requires states to administer an alternate English language proficiency (ELP) assessment for English learners (ELs) with the most significant cognitive disabilities who cannot participate in the general ELP assessment, even with allowable accommodations.