And How MATHia Prepares Your Students for Them
Texas math educators are preparing for the STAAR redesign coming in the 2022-2023 school year, and we’re ready to support you!
As you plan how to give your middle and high school students the skills and practice to thrive on the math portion of the redesigned STAAR, you may be asking yourself:
Never fear, the answers are here!
What Are the New Math Item Types in the STAAR Redesign?
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has introduced new question types for the math portion of the STAAR redesign. TEA’s overview of these item types includes sample problems and an explanation of scoring procedures. Keep in mind that every item type may not show up on every assessment, but your students still need to be prepared for all of them.
Here are eight item types that your students might see on the math portion of the STAAR redesign and how they can get ready to rock them with MATHia, the intelligent and adaptive 1-on-1 software that is currently available to all Texas educators at no cost.
TEA description: Students can write responses in the form of fractions, expressions, equations, or inequalities.
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for Equation Editor item types: MATHia has a built-in expression editor that students use to input math types. Students can use the “*” key for multiplication and the “/” key for division. Other math operators can be found by clicking into a cell and using the green arrow. A pop-up box will open, allowing students to choose the expression they need.
TEA description: Students select a point, an open or closed circle, and a direction arrow to demonstrate a solution set on a number line.
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for Number Line item types: Students graph inequalities on number lines in MATHia. They have to identify the initial point and decide if the dot should be open or closed. They then drag from the initial point to the arrow of the number line to show the entire solution.
TEA description: Students select, point, draw lines, drag bar graphs, and perform other functions to independently create different types of graphs.
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for Graphing item types: Graphing on a coordinate plane is a skill embedded in all MATHia courses. Students regularly write an ordered pair or create a table of values. They then have to click the “plot point” button to plot the point on a coordinate grid.
TEA description: Students select the correct answer(s) from one or more drop-down menu(s).
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for In-line Choice item types: MATHia has In-Line Choice questions in all courses. These questions are typically found in the concept builder workspaces. Students can identify this question type by the arrows in the corner of the cell. When students click on the cell, they are shown several answer choices and must choose the correct one.
TEA description: Students evaluate a given number of options (words, numbers, symbols, etc.) and choose which response(s) to drag to a given area (a diagram, map, chart, etc.).
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for Drag & Drop item types: Drag & drop questions can be found throughout all MATHia courses. This question type is commonly found in concept builder workspaces and occurs any time students do a digital sorting activity.
TEA description: Students respond by selecting one or more specific areas of a graphic.
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for Hot Spot item types: Hot Spot questions are typically found on graphs within MATHia workspaces. For example, in an 8th-grade workspace, students are given a graph of three different equations and asked to select the graph that best represents the equation. Students can click on the coordinate grid to choose the correct answer. This type of problem is also found in some geometry workspaces where students identify specific sides or angles.
TEA description: Students match statements or objects to different categories presented in a table grid.
TEA sample question:
How MATHia prepares students for Match Table Grid item types: Match table grid problems are typically found in mastery workspaces. In MATHia, this type of problem often has multiple columns for students to consider. They must think about what is given in each column and decide if it applies to what is given in the row.
TEA Description: Students respond by typing a brief string of text such as a number, word, or phrase.
Note: The example below is from MATHia since TEA has not yet provided an example of a Text Entry item type.
How MATHia prepares students for Text Entry item types: Text Entry questions appear throughout all MATHia courses. Students are frequently given an empty cell to type in their answers. Other times, this type of question appears in a table of values where students are expected to type in the independent and dependent values.
Reach for the STAARs With MATHia
Change can be hard, but you don’t have to face it alone.
MATHia is the software component of the Carnegie Learning Texas Math Solution that provides ample practice to middle and high school students on the new math item types on the STAAR redesign—all in an online environment, just like how STAAR will be delivered. In the 2022-23 school year, every math teacher in the state of Texas has free access to MATHia.
According to Julie Stowell-Moss, Director of Professional Learning for the state of Texas, students using MATHia are already working through the concepts and formats that will feature in the STAAR redesign. “All students who have benefited from our solution are going to have a huge step up when getting ready for next year’s STAAR,” she says.
“Even if the STAAR weren't being redesigned,” Stowell-Moss adds, “when the kids in Texas can do math in MATHia, they can do it anywhere.”
Carnegie Learning is helping students learn why, not just what. Born from more than 30 years of learning science research at Carnegie Mellon University, the company has become a recognized leader in the ed tech space, using artificial intelligence, formative assessment, and adaptive learning to deliver groundbreaking solutions to education’s toughest challenges. With the highest quality offerings for K-12 math, ELA, literacy, world languages, professional learning and more, Carnegie Learning is changing the way we think about education, fostering learning that lasts.
Explore more related to this author“Even if the STAAR weren't being redesigned, when the kids in Texas can do math in MATHia, they can do it anywhere.”
Julie Stowell-Moss, Director of Professional Learning
