2 Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment: Administering and Interpreting Results
This binder details how to score and interpret the results of the Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA). This course is Unit 4 of the Texas Adolescent Literacy Academy (TALA). These materials are available for view only; no credit or certificate is provided.
Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (TMSFA)
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.
- Text Comprehension (Reading)
- Word Analysis
- Fluency
Linguistic Roots and Affixes (English 8 Reading)
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.
Cognates (English I Reading)
You will use your knowledge of cognates from other languages to help you understand unfamiliar words.
Synthesize Ideas and Details in Several Texts (English I Reading)
You will learn how to synthesize ideas and details in texts and support the connections with textual evidence.
Understanding New Vocabulary within Context
You will learn how to find the meanings of words through analogy and other word relationships.
Annotate for Meaning (English I Reading)
You will learn how to annotate or mark a text as you read and re-read to gain a deeper understanding of the text.
Annotate and Analyze a Paired Passage: Practice 1 (English I Reading)
You will read and annotate paired texts in order to make inferences, draw conclusions, and synthesize ideas and details using textual evidence.
Generate Ideas and Questions
You will learn strategies to help you generate questions and ideas about a topic.
Understand New Vocabulary Using Roots and Affixes
You will learn how to determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes.
Denotation and Connotation (English I Reading)
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.
Understatement/Overstatement (English I Reading)
You will be able to recognize and explain the purpose of understatement and overstatement in a text.
Diction and Tone (English I Reading)
You will be able to evaluate the diction in a text and discover the author's tone.
Close Reading of Prose: Practice 1 (English I Reading)
You will read carefully in order to identify diction, tone, and irony and evaluate their impact on the meaning of a text.
Compare/Contrast Themes and Genres in Literary Texts
You will learn how to analyze, make inferences, and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support your understanding.
Development of Characters Through Literary Devices (English I Reading)
You will be able to recognize how literary devices such as character foils can create complex characters in a short story.
Edit Drafts for Grammar, Mechanics, and Spelling
You will learn how to edit a draft for grammar, mechanics, and spelling using editing strategies.
Analyze Literary Essays’ Inclusion of Personal Opinions and Facts (English I Reading)
You will be able to explain why literary essays include personal opinions and facts to describe an event or situation.
Writing Literary Text with an Engaging Story Line
You will learn how to write an imaginative story that sustains reader interest and includes well-paced action, an engaging story line, and a believable setting.
Write Literary Text That Develops Interesting Characters
You will learn how to write an imaginative story that develops interesting characters and believable dialogue.