TEKS TOOLS [Grade 7]

Since the 2022 STAAR redesign, aka STAAR 2.0, a noted increase in complexity has emerged. Students are asked to think and solve in ways that even cause some adults to pause. Rather than more drill and test prep, a more nuanced approach is needed to ensure student success. Each year's test brings new surprises, and it's necessary for us to equip them with better tools to make sense of the problems.

Process standards

Instead of prepping them based on what the test looked like last year (or the year before that), the process standards can give them them the strategies needed to understand and solve a plethora of problems. Specifically, TEKS 7.1:

• (A) apply mathematics to problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace;

• (C) select tools, including real objects, manipulatives, paper and pencil, and technology as appropriate, and techniques, including mental math, estimation, and number sense as appropriate, to solve problems;

• (D) communicate mathematical ideas, reasoning, and their implications using multiple representations, including symbols, diagrams, graphs, and language as appropriate;

• (E) create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas;

• (F) analyze mathematical relationships to connect and communicate mathematical ideas;

• (G) display, explain, and justify mathematical ideas and arguments using precise mathematical language in written or oral communication.

STAAR analysis

In considering the 114 items that have been released from 2023-2025, a pattern emerges. Specifically, three types of thinking predominate the test. Moreover, each problem type can be solved using what I am calling TEKS Tools.

While these tools will not solve every problem, they will give students the skills needed to solve an abundance of new and unique problem types.

• Number lines - solve problems involving operations, understand ratios, rates, and proportionality, or as a tool to explore scale and percent increase/decrease

• Formulas - understanding and representing the relationships between quantities

• Algebraic Reasoning - identifying algebraic relationships in problem situations, interpret data, make predictions, and solve equations and inequalities

For each test, I've annotated what percent of problems could be solved with these TEKS Tools.

Tool	2023	2024	2025
Number lines	32%	34%	32%
Formulas	24%	18%	24%
Algebraic Reasoning	29%	32%	26%
TOTAL	84%	84%	82%

These three TEKS Tools can consistently support students to achieve at the Meets and Masters levels. You can see my item analysis of how each tool could be used to solve Grade 7 STAAR items here. The items are hyperlinked in the various tabs and contain representations of the appropriate TEKS Tool.

Series

I am exploring each TEKS Tool in a series of blog posts that can be accessed below.

• Number lines

  • Rates

  • Operations

  • Proportionality

  • Ratios and percents

• Formulas

  • Linear relationships

  • 2D shapes

  • 3D shapes

• Algebraic reasoning

  • Interpreting data

  • Algebraic translation

  • Determining solutions