January 25, 2016
Dear Parents/Guardians:
In the 2015-2016 school year, students in grades 3-11 will be administered the State of Texas
Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) exams. NEISD students will take the STAAR
exam for which they are eligible: STAAR, STAAR-A (Accommodated), STAAR-L
(Linguistically Accommodated) and STAAR-Alt 2 (Alternate-2). STAAR-A is an accommodated
online version of the general STAAR assessment which will provide embedded supports to help
students with disabilities access the content being assessed. STAAR-Alt 2 is a standardized itembased assessment administered to special education students with significant cognitive disabilities.
The state’s Student Success Initiative (SSI) passed by the 76th Legislature requires students in
grades 5 and 8 pass both the math and reading STAAR exams in order to be promoted to the next
grade level. The state law requires students in grades 5 and 8 pass the STAAR math and reading
exam in order to proceed to the next grade level.
Under STAAR, first time 9th grade students in 2011-2012 and thereafter are required to take Endof-Course (EOC) exams for courses in which they have completed or will complete coursework
this spring. To graduate under STAAR, students will take exams for English I, English II, Algebra
I, Biology and U.S. History exams.
Students who entered high school prior to the 2011-2012 are required to pass the Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Exit Level test(s) to meet graduation requirements. The Exit
Level TAKS is comprised of four subtests: English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, Science
and Social Studies. The Exit Level TAKS retest(s) will be administered online in the spring. Once
a subtest has been passed, it will not be retaken. Any student who passes all subtests of the Exit
Level TAKS retests prior to graduation will be permitted to participate in the commencement
ceremony as long as all other specific course credit requirements have been met.
Our goal is to provide all of our students with the knowledge and skills to be successful on the
STAAR and TAKS exams. Should you have any questions, please contact your student’s campus
administration or school counselor.
Sincerely,
Pauline Dow, Ed.D.
Chief Instructional Officer