STAAR State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness
®
State of Texas
Assessments of
Academic Readiness
Specific Braille Instructions for: STAAR Biology (July 2015)
The following information is for the test administrator and should not be read to students. For general information
about administering braille tests, please refer to the document in this braille kit titled General Instructions for
Administering Braille State Assessments. This document is also located on the 2015 Accommodations for
Students with Disabilities Taking State Assessments webpage accessed at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student
.assessment/accommodations.
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There is only one braille form per grade and subject area for STAAR.
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A print test booklet is provided in this braille kit. However, the test administrator does not need to view the
print version during a standard test administration. If the student needs an oral administration, the test
administrator should use the print test booklet that is provided in this braille kit. Please refer to the
Oral/Signed Administration Appendix of the 2015 STAAR Test Administrator Manual for more information
about oral administration for braille tests.
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Braille pages are numbered sequentially in the lower-right corner of the braille test booklet. The
corresponding print-page number is located in the upper-right corner of a braille page or within it.
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All directions in the print test booklet that refer to the student marking on an answer document have been
modified appropriately for students taking the braille version of the test.
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You must use a No. 2 pencil to transcribe the student’s responses onto an answer document without
making any changes. Write “Transcribed by ____ because student used braille version” at the top of the
answer document.
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Ensure that the student identification information has been completed on the front of the answer
document.
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Mark “S” in the SCORE CODE field.
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Mark “BR” under the Accommodations (ACCOMM.) field of the answer document. The BR bubble must
be marked in order for the test to be scored correctly.
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Mark other Type 1 or Type 2 accommodations in the ACCOMM. field if applicable.
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The TEST BOOKLET # at the top of the answer document may be left blank.
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Return the print test booklet, braille test booklet, anything on which the student has written answers, the
answer document, and these Specific Braille Instructions to the campus coordinator.
SPECIFIC BRAILLE INSTRUCTIONS
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Specific Instructions
This information is for the test administrator and should not be read to students. Test directions and test questions
(e.g., photos, artwork) may have been reworded or reformatted in the braille version and may be provided in
these Specific Instructions. In addition, descriptions may be provided for the test administrator to read aloud at
the student’s request. Whenever the braille test booklet differs from the print booklet, the student(s) should
respond to the braille test booklet.
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The last sentence of the directions at the top of print-page 5 has been reworded to read, “Then write your
answer.”
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The artwork for question 7 has been omitted and the first sentence of the question has been reworded to
read, “A unicellular green organism with two flagella was examined by students in a biology class using a
microscope.”
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For question 17 the artwork has been omitted and replaced by the following description: “Picture shows two
views of corn seeds in petri dishes. The first view is labeled Before Germination and shows four intact corn
seeds arranged so that each is pointing in a different direction (up, down, left, and right). The second view is
labeled After Germination and shows the four corn seeds with roots sprouted. All the roots are pointing
downward.”
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The artwork for question 20 has been omitted and the first sentence of the question has been reworded to
read, “The influenza virus takes a small segment from a host cell’s RNA and adds it to its own RNA.”
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The artwork and first sentence for question 22 have been omitted.
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The artwork and first sentence for question 29 have been omitted.
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The directions at the bottom of print-page 31 have been reworded to read, “BE SURE YOU HAVE
RECORDED ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS AS DIRECTED BY THE TEST ADMINISTRATOR.”
The artwork and fourth sentence for question 23 have been omitted.
The artwork and first sentence for question 28 have been omitted and the second sentence has been
reworded to read, “What process is most directly responsible for the adaptations exhibited by different feet in
birds?”
The artwork of the pitcher plant in question 32 has been omitted, and the third sentence has been reworded
to read, “A food web representing the ecosystem inside one of its leaves is shown on the next page.”
Test Administration Directions
Read this information to the student(s) before administering the test. You may re-read or explain this
information to the student(s) at any time.
SAY
If anything that I read to you does not match what is in your test booklet please let me know.
A list of special symbols used in this test is on braille page number p3.
The following information is on the Transcriber’s Notes page in the braille test booklet. Instruct the
student(s) to go to page p4 and to follow along as you read the information aloud. You may re-read or
explain this information to the student(s) at any time.
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SPECIFIC BRAILLE INSTRUCTIONS
SAY
Transcriber’s Notes
This test is transcribed according to the rules of The Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics and
Science Notation, 1972 Revision, 2007–2013 Updates.
The Braille Code for Chemical Notation, 1997 is used in this test.
When a key to a graphic does not fit on the same page as the graphic, the key will be on the page
that faces the graphic. The question and answers about the graphic may also be on the facing page
with the key.
Contact TEA’s Student Assessment Division at 512-463-9536 if you have
any questions regarding the administration of braille tests.
SPECIFIC BRAILLE INSTRUCTIONS
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