📍 Report Location
Assessment<STAAR 3-8< Longitudinal Summary<STAAR Differential Report
👤 Summary
The STAAR Differential Report provides a year-over-year comparison of STAAR performance by campus, grade level, and subject. The report compares the current administration to the previous year, allowing districts to quickly identify areas of improvement or decline in student performance.
Results are displayed as the number of students Tested, Meeting the selected performance level, the Percent Meeting, and the difference (+/-) between years. Color-coded cells make it easy to identify significant gains and losses across campuses and subjects.
💡 Usage
Use this report to:
- Compare STAAR performance between two testing years.
- Monitor campus and district trends.
- Identify grade levels or subjects needing instructional support.
- Evaluate the impact of curriculum or intervention initiatives.
- Prepare leadership presentations and board reports.
- Review accountability trends before official ratings.
- Compare performance using different STAAR performance levels (Approaches, Meets, Masters).
- Analyze results by various student groups using advanced filters.
🧭 Special Notes
- The report compares the selected testing year with the previous year.
- Percentages are based only on students who tested within the selected assessment.
- The +/- column displays the percentage-point change from the previous year.
- Cell shading provides a quick visual indication of performance:
- Red: Less than 50%
- Gray: 50%–69%
- Yellow: 70%–79%
- Green: 80%–89%
- Blue: 90% and above
- Results change dynamically based on the selected assessment type, performance level, and filters.
- Depending on the assessment selected, some subjects or grade levels may not contain data.
🎛 Data Source(s)
The report utilizes data from:
- STAAR 3–8 Assessment Files
- STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) Assessment Files
- STAAR Alternate 2 (Grades 3–8)
- STAAR Alternate 2 EOC Files
- Student demographic and enrollment information
- OnDataSuite assessment data warehouse
📑 Definitions
| Field | Definition |
|---|---|
| Campus | Campus where student results are reported. |
| Grade | Student grade level for the selected assessment. |
| Tested | Number of students with valid assessment results. |
| Met | Number of students meeting the selected performance standard. |
| % Met | Percentage of tested students meeting the selected performance level. |
| +/- | Difference in percentage points between the current and previous year. |
| Performance Level | Selected achievement level (Approaches, Meets, Masters, etc.). |
| Assessment Type | Determines which STAAR assessment dataset is displayed. |
🧮 Calculations
Percent Meeting
% Met = (Students Meeting Selected Performance Level ÷ Students Tested) × 100
Difference
Difference = Current Year % Met − Previous Year % Met
Positive percentages indicate improvement, while negative percentages indicate a decline compared to the previous year.
✨ Features
Available Filters
The report includes several filtering options to customize the analysis.
Assessment Type
Select the assessment dataset to display.
Available options include:
- STAAR 3–8
- STAAR EOC
- STAAR Alternate 2 (3–8)
- STAAR Alternate 2 EOC
Performance Level
Choose the achievement level used for the comparison.
Examples include:
- Approaches Grade Level
- Meets Grade Level
- Masters Grade Level
Advanced Filters
Select Show Advanced Filters to further refine the report by available student characteristics. Depending on the assessment and available data, filters may include:
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Special Populations
- Focus List
Report Features
- Year-over-year comparison
- Campus-level summaries
- Grade-level detail
- Subject comparisons
- Color-coded performance bands
- Percentage-point change calculations
- Interactive filtering
- Printable report
- Export capabilities (where available)
🔗 Resources for Qualifications and Calculations
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
- STAAR Resources
- STAAR Performance Standards
- Texas Student Assessment Program
- Accountability Manual
- Accountability Rating System Manual
- TSDS PEIMS Data Standards
Related OnDataSuite Reports
- STAAR Summary Report
- STAAR Performance Report
- STAAR Student Listing
- STAAR Longitudinal Report
- Accountability Domain 1 Reports
- Student Profile Assessment History