Hello McCallum HS Parents and Students!

Your student is registered to take the English 1 STAAR EOC on April 6th.
STAAR = State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness. EOC = End of Course.

Testing will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. at McCallum HS.
Students should bring with them their Chromebook, charger, and water bottle. Students may bring a lunch or will be provided a lunch from the cafeteria, free of charge.

STUDENTS have access to a google sheet link to see which room they will be testing in on the 6th.
(info will be populated by Friday 4/2)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sYgMGgSAJjXFk65WFW7bwCeMc75nxwYJvZRZCUh_VaE/edit?usp=sharing
We will have adults in the halls helping students find their testing rooms.

There will be a maximum of 9 students per testing room. Students will be seated in desks that are at least 6 feet apart from each other. Wearing a mask is required by all students.

We look forward to seeing your student on campus to take the English 1 STAAR EOC on April 6th. If you would like to postpone testing to a later testing session, please email sophia.sherline@austinisd.org.

HEALTH SCREENING
STUDENTS should complete the SELF SCREENER APP before coming to school. Locate the free Austin ISD Mobile App in the digital store for your mobile device by searching for Austin ISD. STUDENTS must show their "GREEN" screen upon entry to the school, at which time our health screener will take their temperature and give the student a wrist band to wear to indicate passing of health screening.  We are asking that students arrive between 8:30-8:45am to have time to make it through the health screening station.

CHROMEBOOK
Students will be using their Chromebook to take the test. The district issued Chromebook has the STAAR EOC testing platform installed on it.  Students may not use personal devices for the STAAR EOC. If your student has a district issued device and it has not been used in a while, it may need to be "powerwashed". See instructions pg 1-6 at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W8W2YY2EjBcLtdiZa03ptFXyE6vKdLx3eqJ6yAotWSs/edit?usp=sharing
Otherwise, we will have a Chromebook for your student to borrow during testing.

LUNCH
Students will be given a break at ~12:30pm to eat lunch. Students will be taking their break and eating lunch in their testing room. Students will be provided a desk shield to separate them from each other while they are eating with their masks off.
If students are providing their own lunch, they must bring it with them into the testing room before the test begins. Parents may not drop off lunches and deliveries will not be accepted.

FINISHED TESTING
When students complete their test, they may read a book (paper copy, may not be electronic for test security purposes). When every student in your student's testing room has completed testing, your student may begin working on their asynchronous course work.  Students will remain supervised in their testing room until the end of the school day. School busses will be available to those that ride the school bus.
OR
When every student in your student's testing room has completed testing, students may contact parents to coordinate a way home. The teacher in the room will verify with parents, over speaker phone on the student's cell phone. The timing on this is fluid. It depends on when everyone in the room finishes testing. Please wait for your student to contact you.

POSTPONE TESTING
Under current law, students are required to perform successfully on STAAR EOCs to meet graduation requirements. We believe it is important for students to participate in STAAR EOCs at the immediate conclusion of the course to have the best chance of success. However, testing in-person in APRIL may not be a viable option for all families. We respect your decision to continue to participate in remote instruction on testing days and your child may postpone taking their STAAR EOCs to a later date. There are multiple opportunities each school year to take STAAR EOCs. These STAAR EOCs are given in April, June, and December each school year.   The next testing session for the English 1 STAAR EOC will be June 22.

LOOKING AHEAD TO TESTING IN MAY
Algebra 1 STAAR EOC – May 4th
Biology STAAR EOC – May 5th
US History STAAR EOC – May 7th
More information about the May tests will be sent out in a couple weeks.

RESOURCES
STAAR EOC Test  Resources:  https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/testing/staar/staar-resources
STAAR Online Testing Tutorial & Practice link: https://tx-tss.caltesting.org/inbrowser/

If you have questions regarding this STAAR EOC testing administration in April, please reach out to Sophia Sherline, sophia.sherline@austinisd.org

For COVID Safety concerns/questions, please contact Assistant Principal Andy Baxa (andy.baxa@austinisd.org).