Sheldon ISD parents/guardians,
Before Winter Break, we shared the Texas Education Agency’s announcement that explained this year’s state assessments would be given, but would not adversely affect students. All state assessments will be administered this spring and must be taken at the school. Sheldon strongly believes the focus should remain on the safety of our community; however, taking the exam is important in Sheldon’s instructional efforts to assess and understand the best way to meet each child’s needs. Because we believe the data received from the assessment will help us better meet the needs of your child, we will implement a testing schedule that reduces the number of students in the building to continue to follow our COVID-19 safety protocols.
Sheldon ISD students will take two assessments this spring:
- The Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment (TELPAS®) designed for all English Language Learners in all grade levels in reading, writing and listening, and speaking.
- The State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) which assesses:
- reading and mathematics, grades 3–8
- writing at grades 4 and 7
- science at grades 5 and 8
- social studies at grade 8
- end-of-course (EOC) assessments for English I, English II, Algebra I, biology and U.S history.
TELPAS testing will be held throughout the month of March, and STAAR testing is held in April and May. To provide a secure and quiet environment for students, the state requires students to test in person at district schools. We will make the following adjustments to the school day on TELPAS and STAAR testing dates:
Secondary students
- Students (those learning remote and in person) will test in the building on their designated day of testing.
- Students in grade levels that are not tested on a specific day will learn synchronously from home on four of the days.
- See chart below.
- This provides more classrooms for our students to use to test in a quiet, safe and secure environment.
- Dates for testing can be found here.
- High school STAAR testing schedules will be available soon.
Middle School STAAR Testing Schedule
Elementary students
- Only third through fifth grade students participate in the STAAR assessments each year.
- All students who participate in the test will take the exam at school (including remote students).
- Unlike the secondary student plan, students learning on site and not participating in the test on a specific day will come to school as normal.
- Based on the numbers of students who will come to school for the test and the number of students who are learning online, there will only be an additional 50 students in the building on testing days.
- Since all grade levels are not tested, schools will have plenty of room to accommodate additional students in the building and still comply with CDC recommended COVID-19 protocols.
- Dates for testing can be found here.
Your child’s schools will hold parent zoom meetings next week to share more detailed campus plans for testing. That information will be shared with you soon.
For resources to help your child prepare for assessments, click here.
We want you to know that your child’s safety is our top priority. For any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s school.
Dr. King Davis
Superintendent of Schools