STAAR ALTERNATE 2 PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Student Name: _____________________________________ Grade: ________ Date: _________________

Name of District Personnel Completing Form: ____________________________ Position: ______________

Texas Education Agency

Student Assessment Division

August 2023

Background and Instructions

Prior to reviewing the participation requirements for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR®)

Alternate 2, the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee must understand all assessment options, including the

characteristics of each assessment and the potential implications of each assessment choice. STAAR Alternate 2 is a

statewide assessment that may only be considered for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. A student

with the most significant cognitive disability is a student who exhibits significant intellectual and adaptive behavior deficits

in their ability to plan, comprehend, and reason, and also who indicates adaptive behavior deficits that limit his or her

ability to apply social and practical skills (e.g., personal care, social problem-solving skills, dressing, eating, using money)

across all life domains. The student requires extensive, direct, individualized instruction and needs substantial supports that

are neither temporary nor specific to a particular content area.

If STAAR Alternate 2 is being considered, the ARD committee must review these participation requirements against the

supporting documentation within the individualized education program (IEP), such as in the present levels of academic

achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP), to determine eligibility. If it is determined that the student meets the

participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2, this form and supporting IEP documentation may serve as the required

IEP statement under 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 89.1055(b) and must be available for review during cyclical and

targeted monitoring.

STEP I: DETERMINE IF STAAR ALTERNATE 2 PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS SHOULD BE REVIEWED

1. The student meets eligibility for special education and related services due to a specific learning disability (SLD).

☐Yes

☐ No

If Yes is marked, stop here. The student does not meet the eligibility criteria as a student with a significant cognitive

disability per 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §300.8(c)(10)(ii): An SLD “does not include learning problems

that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disability, of emotional

disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.”

2. The student meets eligibility for special education and related services due to a speech impairment (SI), which is the

ONLY disability designation.

☐ Yes

☐ No

If Yes is marked, stop here. The student does not meet the eligibility criteria as a student with a significant cognitive

disability per 34 CFR §300.8(c)(11): An SI “means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired

articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational

performance.”

STEP II: DETERMINE IF THE STUDENT HAS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT COGNITIVE DISABILITY

Review the criteria in each row below regarding the student’s access to enrolled grade-level curriculum and adaptive behavior

skills and check the box that is most applicable to the student. One box must be checked in each of the eight rows. If after

reviewing all available data the committee is struggling to decide between Column 1 and Column 2, presume competence and

select the criteria in Column 1.

The student’s IEP documents the following:

COLUMN 1

COLUMN 2

☐

Academic goals aligned to enrolled grade-level Texas

Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) with

accommodations or modifications in some or all

content areas

☐

Academic goals aligned to prerequisite skills

significantly below enrolled grade-level TEKS in ALL

content areas

☐

Routinely participates in traditional methods of

assessment (e.g., multiple-choice, short answer, essay)

with or without individualized support (e.g.,

modifications, accommodations, assistive technologies)

☐

Routinely participates in alternate or non-traditional

methods of assessment (e.g., isolating information;

tactile support; pointing to, reaching for, or touching an

answer choice; formulating a response using a choice

board)

STAAR ALTERNATE 2 PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Student Name: _____________________________________ Date: _________________________

Texas Education Agency

Student Assessment Division

August 2023

☐

Needs that impact access and progress in several or all

academic areas

☐

Significant needs that impact access and progress in ALL

academic areas, which affect the student’s ability to

function independently

☐

Functional goals (e.g., study skills, self-advocacy,

behavior) to support access to the enrolled grade-level

TEKS that may be implemented in one or more settings

☐

Functional goals (e.g., personal care and hygiene,

communication, social skills) implemented across ALL

settings to support access to the enrolled grade-level

TEKS with the need for ongoing adult assistance (e.g.,

prompting, cueing, physical assist) for student progress

☐

The need for some additional support (e.g., scaffolding,

general reminders, practice) to function safely in daily

life and to participate in academic instruction across

some or all settings

☐

The need for ongoing, individualized, specialized

supports (e.g., voice output devices, tactile support,

symbol or picture text support, repeated prompting and

cueing, isolating information to present one at a time,

adult assistance) to function safely in daily life and to

participate in academic instruction across ALL settings

☐

Initiates, performs, and completes self-care routines

(e.g., feeding, dressing, toileting, personal hygiene) with

no or minimal adult assistance (e.g., verbal reminders,

visual schedule)

☐

Requires ongoing adult assistance (e.g., prompting,

cueing, physical assist) to initiate, perform, and

complete self-care routines (e.g., feeding, dressing,

toileting, personal hygiene)

NOTE: The student’s requirement of adult assistance is

NOT due to a physical disability alone but rather to the

student’s significant cognitive disability.

☐

Follows age-appropriate directions, daily routines, and

schedules with some specialized support (e.g.,

accommodations, assistive technologies)

☐

Requires ongoing, individualized, specialized supports

(e.g., modifications, task analysis, direct instruction,

assistive technologies, first/then charts, tactile

schedules, social narratives) and ongoing adult

assistance (e.g., prompting, cueing, physical assist) to

follow directions, daily routines, and schedules

☐

Independently uses alternate response modes (e.g.,

augmentative and alternative communication [AAC]) to

participate in academic and social conversations at an

age-appropriate level

☐ Independently uses traditional response modes (e.g.,

verbal, sign language, written) to participate in on-topic

academic and social conversations at an age-

appropriate level with minimal adult assistance

☐

In the process of developing a functional and consistent

mode of communication (e.g., currently non-verbal,

uses very limited non-symbolic communication)

☐ Uses traditional response modes (e.g., verbal, sign

language, written) but may be inconsistent when

expressing wants and needs AND requires

individualized supports to participate in on-topic

academic and social exchanges at an age-appropriate

level

3. Does the student have the MOST significant cognitive disability?

☐ Yes—All criteria marked are in Column 2

☐ No—One or more criteria is marked in Column 1

If No is marked, stop here. The student does not meet the participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2 and

must take STAAR.

STEP III: PROVIDE ASSURANCES AND CONFIRM STAAR ALTERNATE 2 PARTICIPATION

All assurances must be reviewed and marked for the student to participate in STAAR Alternate 2.

☐ The ARD committee confirms that the decision to administer STAAR Alternate 2 was NOT based on a student’s disability

category, educational environment, instructional setting, demographic information (i.e., sex, ethnicity, race, at-risk,

homelessness, immigrant, emergent bilingual, migrant, economically disadvantaged), need for STAAR accommodations,

below-grade-level reading skills, excessive or extended absences, anticipated disruptive behavior or emotional distress, or

expected poor performance on STAAR and its impact on accountability calculations.

STAAR ALTERNATE 2 PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Student Name: _____________________________________ Date: _________________________

Texas Education Agency

Student Assessment Division

August 2023

☐ Under 34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)(ii), all students who take STAAR Alternate 2 must have two short-term objectives or

benchmarks for EVERY annual goal in the student’s IEP. (Refer to question 1.16 in Question and Answer Document: IEP

Measurable Annual Goals.)

☐ If the ARD committee determines that the student meets the participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2, the

committee understands that instructional and assessment decisions may impact a student’s graduation plan in high school as

described in 19 TAC §89.1070.

☐ Under 34 CFR §300.320(a)(6) and 19 TAC §89.1055, if the ARD committee determines that the student will take STAAR

Alternate 2, the student’s IEP must provide a statement of why the student cannot participate in the general assessment,

STAAR, and why the alternate assessment is appropriate for the student. Additionally, if the ARD committee determines that

the student is eligible to take STAAR Alternate 2 with individually appropriate and allowable accommodations, the student’s

IEP must provide a statement of why the accommodations are necessary to measure the academic achievement of the

student on the alternate assessment.

Document rationale below per 34 CFR §300.320(a)(6) and 19 TAC §89.1055.

4. Is the answer to question 3 “Yes,” and have all assurances been marked?

☐ Yes, the student meets the participation requirement for STAAR Alternate 2.

☐ No, the student does not meet the participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2 and must take STAAR.

STEP IV: STAAR ALTERNATE 2 SUMMARY

Complete the information below only for the grade level or courses in which the student is enrolled during the applicable school

year. A student who meets the participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2 must take the alternate assessment for all

applicable grades/subjects or courses. Note that STAAR Alternate 2 is administered once each school year, and retest opportunities

are not available.

A student in grade 3–8 who meets the participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2 should be assessed only in the grade and

subjects in which they are enrolled and should NOT be assessed above grade level. Mark the student’s enrolled grade during the

applicable school year, indicating which STAAR Alternate 2 assessments the student will take.

☐

Grade 3 mathematics and RLA

☐

Grade 5 mathematics, RLA, and

science

☐

Grade 7 mathematics and RLA

☐ Grade 4 mathematics and RLA

☐ Grade 6 mathematics and RLA

☐ Grade 8 mathematics, RLA, science,

and social studies

A student in high school who meets the participation requirements for STAAR Alternate 2 and is enrolled in a course that has a

Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) course number indicating that the coursework is accessed through

prerequisite skills should take the corresponding end-of-course (EOC) assessment. Mark the alternate high school courses with

associated PEIMS course numbers in which the student is enrolled during the applicable school year, indicating which STAAR

Alternate 2 EOC assessments the student will take.

☐

Algebra I Alternate 03100507

☐

English I Alternate 03220107

☐

English II Alternate 03220207

☐ Biology Alternate 03010207

☐ U.S. History Alternate 03340107