Introducing the New Confidential Student Report (CSR)

PDF Version

 April 26, 2017

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT: INTRODUCING THE NEW CONFIDENTIAL STUDENT REPORT (CSR)

csr_taa

The Texas Education Agency publishes STAAR® report cards for all students every year. To improve communication and transparency with educators and families, TEA has redesigned the Confidential Student Report (CSR). The goal of the redesigned CSR is to create a family-friendly report on student progress, specifically highlighting growth and improvement as much as proficiency.  The new CSR features:

  • Growth and progress information
  • A summer reading list
  • Lexile levels and trend data
  • New performance level descriptors
  • Resources and suggestions for parents to use at home
  • Suggested questions for parents to ask teachers and counselors

We know that families will go to teachers first with questions about the CSR and their students’ performance, and we want to provide a sneak preview to you and your teachers to ensure that you are prepared for questions from families about the CSR. We also want educators to have an opportunity to consider how to best respond to the questions we’re suggesting parents raise in teacher conferences. The new CSRs will be available online and on paper beginning June 13th for the EOCs and June 30th for 3-8, and we hope you will take the time to share this with your staff before the end of the school year. As part of our communications efforts, we will be sending this information to other stakeholders including parent organizations and school board members throughout the state.

CSR Website
On June 13th, TEA is also launching a new CSR web site, which will include item-level analysis for each question on the STAAR, informational videos, and links to additional resources. For the first time, parents and teachers who log in will be able to see actual test questions from the current year’s STAAR exam. They’ll also find information on boosting reading levels and developing student-specific summer reading lists.

Pre-Launch Training Materials
To help you prepare staff and teachers for the changes, we have created a website, http://tea.texas.gov/studentreport, where you can find:

  • Templates of the redesigned CSR for each grade level
  • A list of the suggested questions for parents to ask their children’s teachers or counselors
  • A training video for you to share with teachers, staff, and parents
  • A downloadable presentation
  • An annotated CSR example, describing each new section

If you have questions about the CSR, please contact the Office of Academics at (512) 463-8934.