2015 Released STAAR Test Items & Lead4Ward Resources

In a letter dated July 31, 2015, the Texas Education Agency, Department of Assessment and Accountability announced a partial release of 2015 STAAR test items for grades 3-8 mathematics, including grades 3-5 Spanish.

These test items are available on the Student Assessment Division website at:

http://tea.texas.gov/Student_Testing_and_Accountability/Testing/State_of_Texas_Assessments_of_Academic_Readiness_(STAAR)/STAAR_Released_Test_Questions.

The letter went on to explain: A partial release is a subset of test questions that are eligible for the assessment but do not represent the entire test blueprint. This partial release includes test questions that focus on new student expectations and readiness standards.

In addition to the grades 3-8 STAAR mathematics items, the released spring 2015 STAAR Algebra I EOC test is expected to be posted to the same Student Assessment Division website by August 10, 2015.


To support educator professional learning in light of these released tests/items, Lead4Ward has prepared the resource IQ: Investigating the Questions. These user guides (available at: http://lead4ward.com/resources/) support educators as they work with their teams to:

1. Discuss which part(s) of the student expectation (SE) have been tested.
2. Connect the district curriculum to the student expectations.
3. Discuss the level of thinking required by the test item.
4. Discuss potential error patterns that may arise, including categorizing them as procedural, application, or conceptual errors.
5. Use the information above to make plans to adapt instruction, select materials, structure intervention, and formatively assess as they move into the new school year.

The released STAAR test items should be viewed as another article of content to better align what is happening in the classroom to the standards required by the state.  The released items shed light on the standards as clarification for educators.