Overview
The Elementary School Students in Texas Algebra Ready (ESTAR) and the Middle School Students in Texas Algebra Ready (MSTAR) online assessments were created to help drive instructional decisions about students' algebra readiness and support district and campus Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).
The ESTAR (grades 2–4) and MSTAR (grades 5–8) universal screeners consist of approximately 24 questions that assess understanding in positive whole and rational numbers along with understanding of variables, expressions, and equations. The results of the screener inform educators on which students may be at risk for not meeting algebra readiness expectations and the degree of support students may need. The universal screener can be administered three times a year for progress monitoring.
Following the administration of the ESTAR/MSTAR universal screener, select students should be given a more focused and comprehensive ESTAR/MSTAR diagnostic assessment so that the teacher can determine specific intervention needs.
Additional tools within the system provide decision-making support for campus and district MTSS teams. Connected lessons for intervention are also available.
The ESTAR/MSTAR universal screener and diagnostic assessment can be accessed at https://estarmstar.org.
Districts that would like to administer the ESTAR/MSTAR universal screener and diagnostic assessments must create unique district administrator accounts as well as teacher and student accounts. For questions about accounts and general assistance related to the ESTAR/MSTAR universal screener or diagnostic assessments set-up, please contact mathtx@esc13.net.
Resources
ESTAR/MSTAR Manual: a complete guide to rostering accounts, administering assessments, and getting reports.
Diagnostic Assessment Decision Tree: a support tool used alongside student work samples to determine appropriate ESTAR/MSTAR diagnostic assessments to administer.
ESTAR/MSTAR Diagnostic Assessment Sample Report: An example of a student’s diagnostic assessment report detailing the student’s opportunities and strengths.
Administration Windows
Universal Screener
The 2024–2025 administration windows for the ESTAR/MSTAR universal screeners have been scheduled as follows:
Fall: August 12 – October 11, 2024
Winter: January 6 – February 7, 2025
Spring: April 14 – May 16, 2025
Diagnostic Assessment
The 2024–2025 administration windows for the ESTAR/MSTAR diagnostic assessments have been scheduled as follows:
Fall: August 19 – October 18, 2024
Winter: January 13 – February 14, 2025
Spring: April 21 – May 23, 2025
Professional Development
Professional development opportunities are currently available on the Texas Math Support Center site and offer CEU credits.
The following are the course descriptions along with links to the courses.
This course provides a brief overview of the ESTAR/MSTAR universal screeners and describes how to interpret the results obtained after administering a screener. Results from the ESTAR/MSTAR universal screeners guide instructional decision making and help educators identify the intensity of support needed for students who might be at risk for not meeting expectations in algebra and algebra readiness skills. CEU credit is 2.
Diagnostic Assessments Overview
This course provides a brief overview of the ESTAR/MSTAR diagnostic assessments, examines how learning progressions fit with the diagnostic assessments, discusses how the diagnostic assessments were developed, and provides guidance on how to interpret the results. CEU credit is 2.
This course explores the learning progressions created specifically for the ESTAR/MSTAR diagnostic assessments. Participants will explore the definition of learning progressions in general, information about the ESTAR/MSTAR learning progressions, and the use of learning progressions in mathematics instruction and assessment in order to better prepare students for algebra. Participants will also become familiar with the ESTAR/MSTAR diagnostic assessments. CEU credit is 3.