Essential Guide to 7th Grade STAAR: Prep Strategies for Parents
The STAAR Test is a mandatory exam for students in middle and high school in the state of Texas. By the time that students are in 7th grade, they’ve taken the test numerous times during their education. But, that doesn’t mean that the testing does not still cause them stress and worry.
Read on through this article to discover how 7th graders can pass this test with the highest possible score. We will give you all the info you need to get yourself familiarized with the STAAR test, the questions they have, and some samples for the 7th Grade STAAR Test. Plus, we will include some helpful practical tips your 7th grader can do to calm themselves before the big testing day.
Take the 7th Grade STAAR Practice Test to improve your score.
Its purpose is to measure the readiness of a student about the subjects that have been covered in the year he or she is about to finish.
This test also serves as a final check to make sure the student has obtained at least the minimum knowledge he or she needs to be able to understand and learn the subjects that will be taught in the next grade.
For 7th graders, the STAAR test is already something that they are used to. Nonetheless, the testing itself might be stressful for them and provoke anxiety.
What STAAR Tests Do 7th Graders Take?
7th graders take their STAAR tests on three different testing days, usually within the same week. In order to pass the 7th grade and successfully move onto 8th grade, students need to give satisfactory results in three categories: math knowledge, reading, and writing.
Mathematics STAAR Test
The Math STAAR test for 7th-grade consists of:
Fractions with denominators
Operations with decimals
Specific number properties
Measurements and conversions
Graph reading and analysis
Statistics
Formulas and their usage
Info and data interpretations and conclusions
Students are not allowed to use a calculator during the STAAR test, but they can use a piece of notepaper to do calculations. Nonetheless, they should ask their test representative to give permission for the usage of helping materials.
The basic requirement of the Reading STAAR test is to accurately read, understand and interpret a given passage, poem, or writing. The student will be given both fiction and non-fiction passages to read, in total six passages of different styles. Then, they need to correctly answer the questions by concluding what they’ve read.
The questions for each passage will cover one of these abilities:
Understanding of the theme
Understanding of the point of the passage
Understanding the author’s inspiration for the writing
Ability to summarize
Ability to draw conclusions
Remembering details
Knowledge of grammar
Understanding the meaning of words
Expressing an opinion
Writing STAAR Test
The writing STAAR test is given to 4th and 7th graders. Students must show their abilities to write in scholarly, grammatically, and structurally correct English.
7th-grade students need to read and understand four passages and answer 13 revisions, 17 multiple-choice editing questions, and do one writing prompt.
In this part of the testing, they need to show the following abilities:
The STAAR test for 7th grade is mandatory. The test, for one, is checking the degree of knowledge that a student has obtained during the passing school year. It also gives details about the pace with which a student is learning by comparing cross-grade results. Lastly, it serves the purpose of checking if the student has the minimum knowledge they need to productively follow classes in the next grade.
If a student fails the STAAR test, they have two more chances to pass. If they continue to fail, there is a chance they will be held back a grade.
For gifted students, the test serves as proof or documentation of their abilities and might speed acceleration into higher grades.
How Many Questions Are on the 7th-Grade STAAR Test?
The three testing categories for the 7th-grade STAAR test all have different numbers of questions, as well as a different format for the answers to those questions.
Mathematics STAAR Test
The Mathematic STAAR test is made out of 50 multiple-choice questions and four open questions. In the multiple-choice ones, you (usually) have four stated answers, of which one is correct. It’s the student’s job to select the right answer from the pool of stated answers.
The open questions will require the student to completely write the answer on their own and provide an explanation.
Reading STAAR Test
The Reading STAAR test contains 50 questions, all of them with multiple-choice answers. There will be passages provided, out of which all questions arise. To answer the questions correctly, the student needs to carefully read and understand the provided passage. Also, they need to make sure that the way the answer is written is grammatically and structurally correct.
Writing STAAR Test
The Writing STAAR test for seventh grade contains written composition and multiple-choice questions. Its purpose is to measure the proficiency of the English language, including grammar, meaning, understanding, formatting, etc.
The reading test’s purpose is to measure the student’s reading and understanding of a written text. The writing STAAR test is to check if the student can express themselves in a structured, grammatically correct manner.
What is the value of the expression 26.95 ÷ -51/2?
F -0.49
G -4.9
H -3.3
J -5.3
What is the solution to this equation?
-12x-7=53
Record your answer and fill in the bubbles on your answer document. Be sure to use the correct place value.
Two stores are having sales on cameras.
At Store X all cameras are on sale for 15% off the original price.
At Store Y all cameras are on sale for 1/5 off the original price.
Which store would have the better sale price for a camera with an original price of $80?
A Store X, because the sale price would be $68
B Store Y, because the sale price would be $64
C Store X, because the sale price would be $12
D Store Y, because the sale price would be $16
Reading STAAR Test
Based on the selection, why is the title “More Than a Whistle” appropriate?
A El Silbo is a whistled language produced with specialized sounds.
B El Silbo is a whistled language, but it also represents a traditional way of life in La Gomera.
C El Silbo is a language that uses whistles of different pitches, but it is used less often than it once was.
D El Silbo is a whistled language that can be heard over long distances.
Which sentence best shows the relationship between the characters?
F “Your elephant looks so alive, Kun Ya,” Noi said, leaning close. (paragraph 1)
G Usually Kun Ya asked Noi and Ting to mix the paints. (paragraph 6)
H She glanced at the butterflies dancing close by, then began to paint yellow wings about Kun Ya’s jungle flower. (paragraph 22)
J Kun Ya stroked their hair and sand, “The yellow bird flies away,” while Noi gazed at the flowers and creatures that Kun Ya has created. (paragraph 28)
What is one way that Cheval in the selection “A Legacy of Stone” and Sawadogo in the selection ” Trees Rise in the Desert” are different?
A Cheval created a new design, but Sawadogo applied an old method.
B Cheval was not always interested in architecture, but Sawadogo was always interested in farming.
C Cheval has inspired other artists, but Sawadogo’s work has gone unnoticed.
D Cheval was not sure if he could finish his project, but Sawadogo knew that his experiment would be successful.
What Is the Pass Grade for the STAAR Test 2023?
The passing score of the STAAR test can fall into one of the three categories:
Unsatisfactory Academic Performance – Level I (i.e., the student didn’t pass the STAAR test)
Satisfactory Academic Performance – Level II (the student has passed the STAAR with an average score)
Advanced Academic Performance – Level III (the student passed the STAAR test with a higher than average score)
STAAR Test Report and Results
The STAAR Report Card is the official name of the results.
The basic result of the STAAR Report is the Raw Score. That is the number of correctly answered questions, compared to the total number of questions on each sub-test. The minimum number of correct answers varies from one school year to another. Most of the time, it correlates with the total number of questions for each sub-test.
In 2021, a 7th grader needed to correctly answer at least 24 of the 46 questions on the Writing STAAR test to pass with the lowest score.
For the Math STAAR test, in the same year, a student needed to correctly answer 15 questions out of the total 40.
For the Reading STAAR test, the minimum number of right answers needed to pass was 23 out of 42.
Aside from the Raw Score, the Report Card also contains:
Scale Score – The Scale Score gives two scoring results. One is horizontal i.e., comparison between the student’s performances compared with its peers. The vertical score gives a comparison between different grades/school years and the acceleration in the knowledge that the student did.
Writing Score – For the Writing STAAR Test, there also is a Writing Score. Aside from giving the count of the right answers on the test, it also gives score points for the composition.
The best way to ensure a student passes the 7th-grade STAAR test is to practice. Test Prep Online is the best place to go to get the right practicing materials for the seventh-grade STAAR test.
You might not get the exact same questions as on the test, but these exercise materials have the same format and difficulty as the STAAR questions. With that, the 7th grader will practice the material that they should know for the test while acclimating to the structure of the questions and the format of the testing material.
Tips to Successfully Pass the 7th Grade STAAR Test
Getting ready for the STAAR test in 7th grade, as well as the testing time itself, can be very stressful for a student. Here are some tips to help settle anxiety about the test:
Start preparing on time
Start with the things you don’t know
Create a study schedule and stick to it
Take short breaks while studying
Research the structure of the questions
Use practice materials from Test Prep – Online
Don’t memorize things you don’t have to
Get a studying buddy
Repeat or write down things that you have a problem memorizing
On the day of the testing, make sure that you:
Are well-rested
Have eaten breakfast
Have drunk water
Have been to the toilet
Calm yourself with breathing techniques
Don’t rush
Don’t spend too much time on questions you’re not sure of
Leave what you don’t know and come back to it later
Take all the testing time you have
If you have time, revisit some harder questions and re-think them
The STAAR Test for 7th grade is a mandatory test that all students in the state of Texas take.
To get the best score possible, it’s important to get a timely start on practicing and more importantly, to practice the right kind of questions and materials.
In order to do so, Test Prep Online comes to the rescue. It provides some of the most thorough practice materials for the STAAR Test for 7th grade.
Victoria (or Viki) is a Freelance Writer, Psychologist, and Gestalt Therapy Consultant. With years of experience in higher education as well as counselling others, she is well-placed to offer expert advice on guiding others up the career ladder.
Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
Take The Most Common Practice Tests Given By Employers to Improve Your Chances of Getting Hired
