Assessment & Accountability

STAAR Testing Overview

Learn more about opting out of standardized tests from the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).

Willis ISD is committed to complying with state and federal laws related to state assessments. Texas education code outlines parental rights related to STAAR Testing. According to the education code shown below, Texas Education Agency (TEA) does not allow parents to remove a student from tests.

EDUCATION CODE
TITLE 2. PUBLIC EDUCATION
SUBTITLE E. STUDENTS AND PARENTS
CHAPTER 26. PARENTAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Sec. 26.010.  EXEMPTION FROM INSTRUCTION.  (a)  A parent is entitled to remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or other school activity that conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs if the parent presents or delivers to the teacher of the parent's child a written statement authorizing the removal of the child from the class or other school activity.  A parent is not entitled to remove the parent's child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test or to prevent the child from taking a subject for an entire semester.  (b)  This section does not exempt a child from satisfying grade level or graduation requirements in a manner acceptable to the school district and the agency.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995. (Texas Statutes, accessed 28 Feb. 2022, https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?link=ED)

According to House Bill 4545 and the Texas Education Agency, students who do not meet standard on a subject area STAAR test (or do not take the test) are required to attend a 30-hour per subject Accelerated Instruction. For additional information, contact TEA using the Student Assessment Help Desk or call 512-463-9536. 

Download an Overview of STAAR Testing

STAAR Substitute Assessments

Students at any grade level may choose to use a substitute assessment for a STAAR EOC assessment when they are enrolled in and completing the corresponding course or after they have taken the corresponding course.

To use a substitute assessment:

• A student must have taken the substitute assessment,
• The student must have met the required score, and
• The district must have verified the score.

View the STAAR Substitute Assessments Flowchart

The use of a qualifying score on a substitute assessment fulfills part of the student's graduation requirement.  However, the student is still required to take the STAAR EOC assessment to fulfill the district's federal accountability requirements.

The student is required to test. TEC §26.010 states that “a parent is not entitled to remove the parent’s child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test”. Moreover, TAC §101.4002(d)(2)(e) states, “A student electing to substitute an assessment for graduation purposes must still take the corresponding EOC assessment required under TEC, §39.023(c), at least once for federal accountability purposes. 

View state law outlining the requirements that pertain to STAAR substitute assessments, or view the state rule that clarifies the requirements that pertain to STAAR substitute assessments.

About the PSAT/NMSQT

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is cosponsored by College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) and administered for College Board and NMSC by Educational Testing Service (ETS). The PSAT/NMSQT helps students prepare for the SAT and provides entry to the National Merit Scholarship Program, an academic competition conducted by NMSC.

National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. NMSC conducts the National merit Scholarship Program, an annual academic competition for recognition and college scholarships.  

The PSAT/NMSQT is the route of entry to the National Merit Scholarship Program.  Requirements for participation, steps in the competition, and awards offered are explained in the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide and on NMSC's website, www.nationalmerit.org. Further information is provided in the Guide to the National Merit Scholarship Program.

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9TH and 10TH grade students may opt-in to participate in the PSAT exam on OCTOBER 2, 2024.

You must be pre-registered with payment to be able to take this exam. 

The deadline to have full payment and registration completed is September 6, 2024.

For any and all SAT related questions, please contact:

• Amy Rogers (Room B100L), or via email at arogers@willisisd.org OR
• Rebecca Turner (Room B100E), or via email at rturner@willisisd.org

College Board is committed to providing services for students with disabilities to enable participation in our tests with the accommodations they need.  College Board will not allow students to use IEP or 504 testing accommodations on any College Board exams with consent to review and approve accommodations from both the student and parent.  

Families need to review, complete, and sign the SSD form so that Willis High School has permission to share a student's accommodations with College Board for review.  Completed and signed SSD forms should be given to the Campus Testing Coordinator, Mrs. Turner, located in the library in office B100E no later than September 6 2024.  

Please click the link below to access the SSD Form

ENGLISH: https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ssd-consent-form-accommodations.pdf
SPANISH: https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ssd-parent-consent-form-spanish.pdf

 

About the SAT

The SAT is part of the SAT Suite of Assessments, closely aligned tests that reflect what students are already learning in their classrooms and help educators monitor student progress. The SAT focuses on the skills and knowledge that research indicates are essential for career and college success.

Beginning in Spring 2024, the SAT will be given digitally.  

Test Sections and Timing

The SAT is composed of four modules that follow the same order.  Students are able to move backward and forward between questions in a given module before time runs out.  When time runs out on the first module of each section, Bluebook (College Board testing platform) moves students to the second module.  When students complete the Reading and Writing section, students will be moved to the Math section after a 10-minute break between sections. 

Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: Includes modules 1 and 2, composed of two equal-length modules of test questions. 

Time allotted for a total of 54 questions:

• Module 1 - 32 minutes
• Module 2 - 32 minutes 

Math: Includes modules 1 and 2, composed of two equal-length modules of test questions.  Calculators are now allowed throughout the entire Math section.  A graphing calculator is integrated into the digital testing platform, but students will continue to receive a hand-held device.

Time allotted for a total of 44 questions:

• Module 1 - 35 minutes
• Module 1 - 35 minutes

9TH,10TH and 12TH grade students may opt-in to participate in the SAT exam on March 19, 2025 .

You must be pre-registered with payment to be able to take this exam. 

The deadline to have full payment and registration completed is February 28, 2025.

For any and all SAT related questions, please contact:

• Amy Rogers (Room B100L), or via email at arogers@willisisd.org OR
• Rebecca Turner (Room B100E), or via email at rturner@willisisd.org

College Board is committed to providing services for students with disabilities to enable participation in our tests with the accommodations they need.  College Board will not allow students to use IEP or 504 testing accommodations on any College Board exams with consent to review and approve accommodations from both the student and parent.  

Families need to review, complete, and sign the SSD form so that Willis High School has permission to share a student's accommodations with College Board for review.  Completed and signed SSD forms should be given to the Campus Testing Coordinator, Mrs. Turner, located in the library in office B100E no later than February 28, 2025.  

Please click the link below to access the SSD Form

ENGLISH: https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ssd-consent-form-accommodations.pdf
SPANISH: https://accommodations.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ssd-parent-consent-form-spanish.pdf

 

Learn about how Advanced Placement courses benefit Willis ISD students and the state-funded subsidies that are available for exam fees.  

Students have until June 20 to sign in to My AP and send one free score report to the college, university, or scholarship organization of their choice. Once they sign in, they'll be prompted to make their selection.

Here's how AP benefits students:

• AP Exams help students stand out, no matter their score.
• More colleges than ever before are accepting AP Exam scores for placement and credit.
• Nearly all colleges offer credit for the most popular AP courses.
• 3 out of 4 AP students who enrolled in a four-year college started school with some AP credit.

 

SAT, ACT, and TSI Reimbursement

Texas Education Code (TEC) §48.155 and §39.0261, states that a school district is entitled to reimbursement to help recover the cost of the administration of college preparation assessments (SAT, ACT, and TSI) once during high school per student either in the spring of their junior year or anytime during their senior year, regardless of whether administration occurs outside of the school day.

For the 2021-2022 school year, eligible students are as follows:

• Seniors (Class of 2022) who take either the SAT, ACT, or TSI from September 1, 2021 – July 31, 2022.
• Juniors (Class of 2023) who take either the SAT, ACT, or TSI from January 1, 2022 – July 31, 2022.

Please complete this form, attach all required documents and return it to Amy Rogers (B100 L) as soon as possible for review and processing.

Should you or your students have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Rogers (arogers@willisisd.org or 936-890-6672).

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El Código de Educación de Texas (TEC) §48.155 y §39.0261, establece que los estudiantes de secundaria elegibles pueden tomar una vez, a costo del estado, la administración de las evaluaciones de preparación para la universidad (SAT, ACT y TSI), independientemente de que la administración de la evaluación ocurra fuera del día escolar.

Para el año escolar 2021-2022, los estudiantes elegibles son los siguientes:

• Seniors (Clase de 2022) que tomen el SAT, ACT, o TSI desde el 1 de septiembre de 2021 hasta el 31 de julio de 2022.
• Juniors (Clase de 2023) que toman ya sea el SAT, ACT, o TSI desde el 1 de enero de 2022 - 31 de julio de 2022.

Por favor, complete este formato, adjunte todos los documentos requeridos y devuélvalo a Amy Rogers (oficina no. B100 L) tan pronto como sea posible para su revisión y procesamiento.

Si usted o sus estudiantes tienen alguna pregunta, no dude en ponerse en contacto con la Sra. Rogers (arogers@willisisd.org o 936-890-6672).

TEA allows students to accelerate a grade level or earn credit for a course on the basis of credit by examination.

• Acceleration: With approval from the local school district, students in grades K-12 seeking placement credit in a subject area or grade in which they have not received prior instruction may earn credit by passing all of these exams (Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies) with a grade of 80% or above. 
• Credit Recovery: With approval from the local school district, students in grades 6-12 who received prior instruction in a subject area but did not receive credit may earn credit by passing an exam (grade of 70% or above) that assesses the student's knowledge and skills in that subject area.

Below is the schedule of testing windows available to enrolled students with Willis ISD. Please contact your school's counselor for more information regarding the registration form and credit by exams which are available.

Download the 2024-2025 Credit by Exam Schedule

Download the 2024-2025 Credit by Exam Student Registration Form

Resources

• Texas Education Agency website
• UTHS Credit by Exam Study Guides (Note: Study guides for Communication Applications, English, Art and PE are essential as these exams have specific requirements.)
• UTHS CBE Certification Report (Note: UTHS posts the CBE Certification Reports annually, which include score reports for all students statewide who completed CBEs provided by UTHS during the prior academic year.)

The ACT is a college entrance exam used by most colleges and universities to make admission decisions. It consists of four multiple choice exams in English, math, reading, and science. It also has an optional writing exam. These exams serve as a link between what students have learned and what they are ready to learn next. These exams are designed to measure skills that are most important for success in postsecondary education.

Register for the ACT Exam