Texas Education Agency - Learn More
Parent Training and Information Centers
Other Parent Training Resources
Questions & Answers
Federal law mandates that all students, regardless of disability, have access to the general education curriculum. Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, all students must be assessed on grade-level curriculum. Beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, there will be several assessment options in Texas: TAKS, TAKS-I, TAKS-M and TAKS-Alt.
What is TAKS-Alt?
TAKS-Alt stands for “Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills – Alternate”. TAKS-Alt is an assessment for students who have significant cognitive disabilities and are unable to participate in the other statewide assessments available in Texas.
Unlike the other statewide assessments in Texas, TAKS-Alt is not a traditional pencil and paper or multiple choice test. Instead, the assessment involves teachers observing students as they complete activities that are linked to the general education curriculum.
Who takes TAKS-Alt?
TAKS-Alt is designed for those students receiving special education services who have the most significant cognitive disabilities. The ARD committee must first determine that the student is unable to participate in the other statewide assessments even with substantial accommodations and/or modifications. In addition, the ARD committee must determine that the student meets the participation criteria for TAKS-Alt. See the Participation Requirements on the TAKS-Alt Resource Page.
What are the benefits of TAKS-Alt?
Students with the most significant disabilities traditionally have had the most difficulty accessing the general education curriculum. TAKS-Alt ensures that students with significant disabilities have access to the same curriculum that all other students access. It also ensures that their progress in the general education curriculum is measured and included in the statewide assessment process. In addition to being an assessment tool, TAKS-Alt is also a planning tool that will assist teachers in designing activities for your child that not only link to the general education curriculum but also focus on your child’s individual abilities and needs.
How is my child assessed with TAKS-Alt?
TAKS-Alt is designed for students who are unable to take traditional tests. Assessment is based on teacher observations that are recorded throughout the school year. TAKS-Alt is not a single test on a single day. The specific activities and student skills that are observed will vary from student to student depending on their individual abilities and goals.
Students taking TAKS-Alt will be assessed in the same subjects that all students in their enrolled grade level are assessed. So if your child is in 8th grade, he/she would be assessed in Math, Reading, Writing, Science and Social Studies just as any other 8th grader would be. Classroom placement is not a consideration.
The activities that are observed as part of the TAKS-Alt assessment must link to grade-level curriculum. This does not mean that your child must learn grade-level material or participate in traditional ways. The activities can focus on content or skills that are typically taught in earlier grade levels or even pre-kindergarten. But they must link to the curriculum that is being taught to grade-level peers. For example, if other 8th grade students are learning algebra, your child’s activities might focus on math skills that are building blocks for learning algebra such as addition and subtraction, counting, recognizing patterns... How each student participates in an observed activity is determined individually based on the student’s abilities and goals.
What is an “Essence Statement”?
An essence statement is a summary of the knowledge and skills that all students are expected to learn for each grade level and subject tested on the statewide assessments. Instructional activities for students taking TAKS-Alt are designed to measure their progress on the knowledge and skills summarized in the essence statements.
For example, all 6th graders are tested on the following knowledge and skills based on the 6th grade general education reading curriculum: “(5.9) Reading/vocabulary development. The student acquires an extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study. The student is expected to: (D) determine meanings of derivatives by applying knowledge of the meanings of root words such as like, pay or happy and affixes such as dis-, pre- and un-.”
However, the essence statement summarizing those expectations for 6th grade students taking TAKS-Alt is “Expands vocabulary.” Students taking TAKS-Alt could be assessed using grade-level expectations for “expanding vocabulary” or expectations from earlier grades or pre-K related to “expanding vocabulary”. It depends on your child’s individual abilities and goals.
What about functional or life skills?
TAKS-Alt does not replace your child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). If your child needs to work on functional skills during the school day, those goals should still be included in your child’s IEP.
How will my child have time to work on TAKS-Alt activities in addition to his/her IEP goals?
Your child’s IEP should include academic goals that reflect what he/she will be assessed on with TAKS-Alt. So there should be some overlap. Instructional activities are often designed to include both academic and functional goals, or cover more than one subject area. For example, if a student is learning to following a recipe, one cooking activity could include math goals, reading goals and functional goals. Or a group science experiment could include math, reading, writing, social and/or functional goals in addition to science goals. Your child should not have to participate in a separate instructional activity for each and every IEP or TAKS-Alt goal.
Can my child be exempt from the statewide assessment?
No, there are no exemptions. All students, grades 3-11, must participate in the statewide assessment process.
Can my child take TAKS-Alt for certain subjects and a different assessment for other subjects?
No. If the ARD committee determines that your child should participate in TAKS-Alt for any subject area, then he/she will take TAKS-Alt for all subject areas. However, the activities and goals for each subject will be individually determined based on your child’s abilities and needs. So your child could be assessed on or near grade level in one subject area and assessed below grade level in another subject area if that is appropriate.
Will parents get a copy of the assessment data?
All parents of students participating in one of the statewide assessments will receive a report summarizing their child’s assessment results, including parents of students taking TAKS-Alt. Parents will not automatically receive a copy of the teacher observations and data collected for the TAKS-Alt assessment. However, that data will be part of your child’s official school record, and as a parent you have the right to request a copy of the assessment report.
Questions for the ARD:
1. Could your child participate in one of the other statewide assessment options with appropriate accommodations and/or modifications?
2. Does your child meet the participation criteria for TAKS-Alt? http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/special-ed/staaralt/
3. There will be some TAKS-Alt objectives or “essence statements” that your child must be assessed on as required by the state. Make sure you review and are familiar with those objectives. See the Participation Requirements on the TAKS-Alt Resource Page.
4. There will be some TAKS-Alt objectives or “essence statements” that will be chosen by your child’s teacher. The ARD committee can give input into which objectives are chosen. Make sure you give your input.
5. Find out who will be responsible for observing and collecting data on your child and who will be responsible for inputting that data into the TAKS-Alt data collection system.
Additional Resources:
By going to the Student Assessment Division Resources for TAKS-Alt webpage, parents can link to the following resources:
- Training Modules – Modules 1-3 will be most beneficial to parents so that they understand how the process should work. First time users will need to click on “Register Now” and follow the instructions provided.
- When asked for the County/District/Campus Number, parents can enter 999999999.
- After registering, enter Texas0708 for the “Learn Center Password”.
Once logged on, you will go to a homepage where you can access the training courses, resources, and contact numbers.
- TAKS – Participation requirements
- TEKS Vertical Alignment for TAKS-Alt - provides an overview of the curriculum from pre-K through high school for subjects that are tested on the statewide assessments.
- The TEKS Curriculum Framework for TAKS-Alt provides a listing of the student expectations from earlier grade levels, including pre-K, (i.e. “pre-requisite skills”) that lead up to the knowledge and skills tested on the statewide assessments. If your child is not expected to meet some or all of the grade level expectations, these documents may be helpful to you in determining appropriate educational goals that align with what the other students in your child’s grade will be learning.
- State Required Essence Statements
- Examples of Activities to show how the general education activity has been modified or changed for varying levels of student ability.
Texas Project FIRST is an activity of the Texas Continuing Improvement Process (TCIP) under the auspices of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region 9 Education Service Center, and is focused on helping to fulfill the goals of TEA and the Parent Training Committee
TEA Parent Information Line 1-800-252-9668
Texas Project FIRST - A project of Family To Family Network - Contact Web Administrator