Your kids should be receiving three-week progress reports this week. This will be an opportunity to evaluate the progress your child is making in class. The following information outlines the use of CSCOPE Assessments in academic classes in San Saba ISD.

CSCOPE Assessments will be given to your child to help prepare them for the STAAR Assessments given in Texas in the spring. The STAAR will be replacing the TAKS Test in Texas. Tenth (10

Parents, understand that everyone want students to be challenged, but many parents hate to risk academic standing. Our goal is to prepare our district’s students with the best academic weapons to face whatever challenge is to come. STAAR will begin in the spring.

Information for individual grade levels has been included to help parents know what to expect for their children.

TEKS are Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. This is what the state of Texas (TEA-Texas Education Agency) says public school districts must teach. TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) was the state assessment used for the past 10 years in Texas Public Schools. STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) will be the new state assessment for 3

At the heart of the CSCOPE process is a guaranteed & viable curriculum. Content area experts ensure quality through a process of continual review. The key components of the CSCOPE curriculum are:

•A K-12 systemic model in the four core content areas

•Common language, structure, and process for curriculum delivery

•Innovative Technology

•Aligned written, taught, and tested curriculum

•Clarified and specified TEKS/TAKS expectations assembled in a vertical alignment format

•Customizable instructional plans that allow district resources to be integrated into the system

Lessons in both English and Spanish

More information about CSCOPE and the STAAR assessment can be found at the following link:

http://www.cscope.us/staar.html Teachers use the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines that are found on the TEA Website to prepare students. Many of the things students are required to do in pre-kindergarten deal with how to get along with peers, perform good hygiene, recognize letters, and work in centers. There are many other things, but this is an example of what students need to be able to do to be successful in school. Teachers will communicate how students are progressing by having parent/teacher conferences and sending home checklists.

Pre-Kindergarten:

Kindergarten and 1

2

3

5

5

6

7

8

Students will take CSCOPE assessments in English (once a six-weeks) and math, science, and social studies (approximately two a six-weeks) to help prepare them for the rigor of the STAAR.

9

Students beginning the 9

Algebra I

English I

World Geography

Biology

Geometry

English II

World History

Chemistry

Algebra II

English III

United State History

Physics

Students will be required to score an average on all tests. Students will also be required to score a "passing" score on the English III and Algebra II to meet graduation requirements. No state standards have been set yet, so we can only prepare our students with the standards we know they will be tested, the TEKS. We will not know scoring standards until the fall of 2012.

CSCOPE assessments are rigorous and offer our district the best opportunity to be prepared for the rigor of the STAAR assessments. The CSCOPE assessments will be difficult but San Saba ISD has confidence that the preparation will pay dividends in the future for the students. Communication will be very important as we prepare the district’s students for the advent of a new state assessment. Please feel free to contact Michael Bohensky if you have any questions. (325) 372-3771

Students beginning the 9Students in these grades are responsible for these state assessments in the spring: Students in 3: Students in 2 Learning to read and love it is important in these grades! Teachers in these grades have more observational tests. For example, students may be responsible for knowing numbers and recognizing letters. Teachers keep track of student progress with a checklist, spreadsheet, or chart that shows which skills have been mastered. This information will be shared with parents in a meeting at least once a semester. Teachers will be contacting parents to set up parent/teacher conferences during each semester. Texas Proficiency Reading Inventories (TPRI tests) are given to kindergarten, 1

th) and Eleventh (11th) graders will remain taking the TAKS test because they started their high school graduation plans before the STAAR test was implemented. Grade 3rd through 9th grade will be responsible for taking the STAAR assessment. The first assessments will take place in March. For a complete testing calendar, please check the San Saba ISD Website. San Saba ISD feels that the CSCOPE assessments are reflections of what the STAAR assessment will present. San Saba ISD plans to work towards using these assessments as actual class grades; however, initially, the district will implement CSCOPE Assessments as benchmarking tools. All assessments will be given, but the scores will be used to provide supplemental instruction, tutorials, recognize OFYP candidates, and target gaps in instruction. If your student doesn’t score at least 80% on each assessment, he/she can expect supplemental instruction to prepare them for state assessments. The teacher will make decisions on what instruction is needed to fill any gaps. These assessments will not counts as actual grades, but will act as tools to provide more guidance on what instruction is needed. We want all parents to know how your student individually performed on each CSCOPE assessment. Teachers will find the best way to communicate CSCOPE assessment data with you. Some options are letting students take home the assessment and having a parent sign, or printing an individual report sheet, or denoting somehow on the progress report. We are still looking for the best option. rd through 9th graders starting in the spring of 2012. TEKS are revised every few years in each subject (math, English, science, and social studies). st Grade:st, and 2nd grade students at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to assess reading proficiency. Foundation skills are taught in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. Skills in these grades are important building blocks and must be mastered to ensure success in the later grades. Learning to read, basic and intermediate math skills, and recognizing how to solve problems are important skills that students must master in these grades. CSCOPE is used and aligns the state standards (TEKS) and provides vertical alignment to make sure the rigor of the TEKS is taught. The new STAAR exams will test our students to the rigor of the TEKS. There is only one region center in the state of Texas that is not using CSCOPE. nd Gradend grade will take a reading CSCOPE assessment each six-weeks. There are math, science, and social studies CSCOPE assessments each six-weeks also. Sometimes this varies depending on the units. For example, there was a quick CSCOPE assessment in science to make sure lab safety was learned, so these students might have three assessments in the first six-weeks. There is no state assessment in the spring for 2nd graders, but it is critical to start preparing students for testing rigor and stamina now. rd and 4th Grade:rd and 4th grade will take state assessments in reading and math in the spring. 4th graders will have an additional writing state assessment that they must take. Teachers will administer CSCOPE assessments in 3rd and 4th grade. These students will take a reading CSCOPE assessment each six-weeks. There are CSCOPE assessments for students in math, science, and social studies also. Students will bring home assessment for parents to see. th-8th Grade Students: th Grade: STAAR math, reading, scienceth Grade: STAAR math, readingth Grade: STAAR math, reading writingth Grade: STAAR math, reading, science, social studiesth-12th Grade:th grade this school year (2011-2012) will be responsible for End of Course Exams as part of the STAAR testing program. Students in 10th or 11th grade will continue to take TAKS for graduation purposes. th grade in the 2011-2012 school year will be required to take state required End of Course Exams as part of STAAR testing in the following courses unless they have already completed the course.