Districts use common assessments or benchmarks to measure and accelerate learning. These district-wide assessments should match the district’s scope and sequence and reflect the STAAR-tested content, format, and rigor to serve their role in improving student learning.
Achieving meaningful insights from local assessments requires high-quality tests. With Sirius’s new STAAR Assessment Bank and Test Builder, you can be confident that all test items and passages match STAAR 2.0 in the smallest details.
Our comprehensive online testing bank covers all 20 STAAR-tested courses, with over 10,000 authentic test questions including two-point questions and SCR and ECR items. All questions are new and distinct from our Sirius Online digital courses.
High-Quality Items for Better Data-Informed Decisions
Secure and authentic STAAR assessments generate valid data on students’ TEKS mastery and progress. Admins can build custom assessments, deliver them in an authentic testing platform, and analyze the high-quality data by campus, class, and student.
The Sirius program includes:
- Authentic STAAR 2.0 questions and passages
- Online interface that matches STAAR in tools and functionality
- Robust reporting for actionable insights at all STAAR performance levels
- Exportable student data as CSV files for analysis and disaggregation.
The success of an administrator’s decisions depends on the quality of the data they use. With Sirius’s STAAR Assessment Bank, admins can predict likely student STAAR performance, and confidently target teachers and classes that need support, including by TEKS!
Customizable Pre-Built Assessments Save Time
Ready-to-use, pre-built assessments are available in all 20 STAAR-tested courses and include full-length Practice Tests. All pre-built assessments can be easily customized by adding, removing, and resequencing items.
The assessments are:
- Secure—private until published for teacher use
- Customizable—add, remove, and rearrange questions
- Available in Spanish—parallel Grades 3–5 assessments
- Practice Tests—full-length authentic STAAR 2.0 tests
All Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank questions and passages are Texas STAAR 2.0, so no time is wasted sorting through inappropriate content. With pre-built tests, high-quality local assessments are fast and easy to create!
Sirius offers personalized training to ensure admins can get up to speed in using the Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank with minimal time and effort.
Inclusive & Equitable Assessments
With items available in both English and Spanish for all grades 3–5 courses, administrators can ensure equitable access to high-quality assessments.
And, coming in 2024–25, the Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank & Test Builder will launch Content and Language Supports as an accommodation for use by district-designated students. NOTE that Content and Language Supports will be available on a rolling basis and made available throughout the school year, starting with grades 3–5.
Build District Assessments Collaboratively
With the Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank, you can get buy-in and support by collaborating with your team members in building your common assessments. You have the option to include anyone you want in a secure environment.
- Plan common assessment blueprints with your calendar and scope and sequence
- Invite team members to a Share folder to review draft tests
- Coordinate the release of the published test for test security
Collaboration results in better common assessments that align with the scope and sequence. And, by being inclusive, districts are more likely to get buy-in and follow through in using the benchmark results for data-driven interventions.
Your team may even want to use more frequent, shorter common assessments, such as every six weeks.
Actionable Reports Empower Teachers & PLCs
Empower teachers with access to all student performance data, including item analysis details. When teachers can see each question and each student’s answer, they are much more likely to act on this information.
- Campus leaders and coaches can analyze data by teacher, by class, and by TEKS to identify where support is needed.
- Teachers can examine student performance data and quickly make intervention assignments out of Sirius Online.
- Students can review each test question to see what they answered, get feedback and hints, and learn from the common assessments!
With Sirius, your common assessments will become a key part of continuous improvement by giving actionable information to teachers so that they can make adjustments as they teach. Teachers can use student performance data to work with peers in PLCs to improve TEKS instruction.
In addition, students can review their test, see their work, and get feedback. This transforms a local assessment into a rich learning experience. After all, common assessments are about helping students grow and get better.
Actionable Insights Drive Next Steps
With the Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank, it is easy to identify what students know and can do, and what they have difficulty with. This data makes it easier for admins to make instructional decisions, including on how to target interventions for individuals and groups.
Sirius Reports include Performance, Usage, Progress, and Engagement, which give actionable insights to students, teachers, department heads, and both school and district administrators. Learn more about Reports here.
Better Together: Sirius Online & the STAAR Assessment Bank
Sirius resources help Texas schools better align their taught curriculum with how the TEKS are tested in the rigorous online STAAR 2.0 tests. Sirius strives to fill gaps in core curriculum—often adopted years ago—and in common district assessments that support improved instruction.
Savings in Time, Effort, & Costs
Sirius’s two integrated resources simplify work, save time, and save money. Sirius resources also bring coherence to a district’s curriculum by supporting all 20 STAAR-tested courses and providing the same teacher and student user experience. Admins gain efficiency with a single platform that combines and compares student data for all 20 courses.
- Sirius Online provides daily instruction focused on the most-important or essential TEKS, along with authentic STAAR 2.0 practice that closely matches the content, format, and rigor of STAAR tests, including technology-enhanced items.
- The Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank & Test Builder helps administrators monitor student learning and progress with customizable local assessments to collect high-quality data by campus, class, and student.
Because all data flows into the same all-in-one Standards Reports, interventions can be easily coordinated. In fact, student assignments can be made directly out of these reports to groups and individuals to save time.
Sirius Online Adds Depth & Rigor
Sirius Online is easy to use and adapt for multiple contexts and needs, to support ALL students. With Sirius Online, the STAAR thinking can add depth and rigor to a district’s all-year-long curriculum. This includes challenging on-grade-level students to raise their achievement to the Masters level.
ALL Students: Enhancing TEKS Instruction (On-Level)
Use alongside the core curriculum to ensure all students learn what they need to know and do on the STAAR 2.0 tests. Sirius adds rigor to daily instruction and prevents surprises on test day.
Struggling Students: Targeting Support (On-Level)
Prioritize essential TEKS instruction for on-level reteaching and reinforcement that closely supports classroom instruction with a streamlined curriculum.
Selected Students: Remediating Key Skills (Below-Level)
Support students in relearning below-level foundations skills and concepts needed for on-grade-level success. Remediation can be targeted by students’ needs, topics, or TEKS.
Cost-Effective Pricing
The Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank & Test Builder is sold by student license with cost-effective quantity discounts.
Sirius Online and the Sirius STAAR Assessment Bank & Test Builder can be purchased together with additional bundle discounts. These Sirius resources complement each other to provide a comprehensive solution with essential TEKS instruction, systematic STAAR practice, and authentic STAAR 2.0 assessment.
Sirius resources are easy to use and effective in supporting teachers to help students learn the essential TEKS and succeed on STAAR tests.