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
Reading and Writing to a Prompt (English III Reading and Writing)
You will learn skills necessary for reading and writing to a prompt.
Imagery (English III Reading)
In this lesson, you will be able to identify the imagery in a text and evaluate its effectiveness.
How to Read and Analyze a Poem (English III Reading)
You will be able to read and analyze a poem using your knowledge of literary and poetic devices.
Writing a Topic Proposal (English III Writing)
You will learn how to write a topic proposal that addresses your topic, purpose, and audience.
Developing a Thesis and Introduction (English III Writing)
You will learn how to write a thesis statement that explains your position about a topic.
Organizing the Structure of a Paper (English III Writing)
You will learn how to organize your essay with relevant evidence that supports your thesis.
Editing for Proper Voice, Tense, and Syntax (English III Writing and Research)
You will practice checking for proper voice, tense, and syntax.
Documenting Sources and Writing a Bibliography/Works Cited (English III Research )
You will learn how to cite your sources in the body of your research paper and write a works cited page according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style manual.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Distinguish Between Summary and Critique (English I Reading)
You will learn how to summarize a text in contrast to writing a critique that takes a position.
Analyze How Author's Style and Syntax Support Meaning (English I Reading)
You will be able to analyze how an author's style and syntax support meaning in a text.