Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.006(c-1) requires that students who do not meet the passing standard on the Grade 6 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) reading test must be administered a reading assessment at the beginning of grade 7. The Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA) was developed with Texas students to be a valid and reliable instrument for determining students’ areas of instructional need.

The TMSFA is based on valid and reliable scientific research, thoroughly measures each domain of development, and is user-friendly. The following three domains of development are assessed using the TMSFA.   

1. Text Comprehension (Reading)  
2. Word Analysis  
3. Fluency  

You will be able to recognize linguistic roots and affixes to use in determining the meanings of academic English words and in other content areas.

You will be able to distinguish between the denotative (dictionary) meaning of a word and its connotative (emotions or associations that are implied rather than literal) meaning.

Phonics is the relationship between the letters (graphemes) of written language and the sounds (phonemes) of spoken language. These phonics activities are designed to enhance the instruction of all teachers of reading and to meet the learning needs of all students, as indicated by data.

Phonological awareness is the structure of oral language. It involves the awareness that oral language is comprised of sounds and the ability to manipulate these sound parts in various ways (blending, segmenting, deleting, adding, substituting).

Fluency is the ability to read text effortlessly, allowing the reader to concentrate on meaning. Fluency includes reading accurately, quickly, and with prosody (appropriate phrasing, expression, and attention to punctuation).
 

Vocabulary knowledge is an essential component of comprehension, language proficiency, and reading growth for all students.These vocabulary activities are designed to enhance the instruction of all teachers of reading and to meet the learning needs of all students, as indicated by data.

You will learn how to write an expository/procedural text with a variety of sentence structures, rhetorical devices, transitions, appropriate facts, and details.

You will learn how to make connections between and across texts, including other media (e.g., film, play), and provide textual evidence.

You will learn how to analyze different points of view, including first-person, third-person omniscient, and third-person limited.

You will learn how to determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes.

You will learn how to use context (e.g., cause and effect or compare and contrast organizational text structures) to determine or clarify the meaning of unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words.

You will learn how to infer the implicit theme in a work of fiction, distinguish theme from topic, and make complex inferences using textual evidence.

Using textual evidence, you will be able to explain how authors create meaning through stylistic elements and figurative language emphasizing the use of personification, hyperbole, and refrains in prose and poetry.

These comprehension activities are designed to enhance the instruction of all teachers of reading and to meet the learning needs of all students, as indicated by data.

You will learn how the setting in a story can influence the development of the plot.

You will learn how to analyze different points of view, including first person, third-person omniscient, and third-person limited.

You will learn how to explain a playwright’s use of dialogue and stage directions.

You will learn the importance of graphical elements (e.g., capital letters, line length, word position) in the meaning of a poem.

You will be able to identify figurative language and understand how it creates imagery, appeals to the senses, and suggests mood.