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As summer moves into full swing, parents will be receiving the last report cards of the year, but these are a bit different – they’re for STAAR results.

STAAR stands for State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, the state-mandated tests taken by public school students from third grade through high school each year.

The report cards for STAAR saw an overhaul last summer to help parents better track their student’s progress.

Students will receive one of four rankings for each subject they tested in: did not meet grade level, approaches grade level, meets grade level and masters grade level.

The reports also give parents a look at recommended books for their student to read based on the student’s scores.

“One of the great things with this new STAAR report card is they will have some books recommended based on where they score,” Tyler ISD Director of Assessments James Cureton said. “The suggestions correspond with where that child is at. In addition to that, on the back cover there are some additional resources.”

Cureton said the district encourages parents to read with their students over the summer and play learning games to avoid regressing academically, something commonly referred to as the summer slide.

In addition to more clearly indicating how the student is performing, the report also will show what, if any, growth occurred from the previous year. The reading metrics are based on Lexile scores, which are used to assess reading ability and the text demands of books aimed at their grade level.

“The big one without question is that recommended reading,” Cureton said. “(Math suggestions) are going to change based on the grade, but what it’s doing is giving the parent a list of what they can do at home to help move their student further along in the educational process.”

If families commit to taking those suggestions to heart, they can see big benefits, especially for older students.

The proactive strategies for parents vary by grade level and help parents not only see where their children are in their learning, but also how they can help the child grow.

“For high school, one of the nice things about the report card is that they’ll give you perspective on where your child is relative to college entrance standards,” Cureton said. “It helps them kind of prepare for the next steps.”

That way students can get a head start on the areas they need to improve before taking college entrance exams.

Parents also can go online and review which questions their student’s missed.

For more information, visit TexasAssessment.com.

Twitter: @TMT_Cory