How STAAR Scores Can Help You Earn TIA Designation (And Up to $32,000)

Here’s something most Texas teachers in STAAR-tested grades don’t fully realize: the student growth data you’re already generating can directly earn you thousands of dollars per year through TIA designation.

The Teacher Incentive Allotment’s student growth pillar and STAAR progress measures are deeply connected. If you teach a STAAR-tested subject and your students show strong growth, you’re already building the case for TIA designation — you just need to be intentional about it.

This guide breaks down exactly how STAAR scores feed into TIA, which growth metrics matter most, and practical classroom strategies that move the needle on both student outcomes and your designation prospects.

How STAAR Connects to TIA: The Direct Link

TIA requires every district’s designation system to include a student growth component worth at least 20% of the overall evaluation. For teachers in STAAR-tested grades and subjects (3rd–8th grade reading, math, science, and social studies; plus EOC subjects), STAAR data is typically the primary — or sole — measure for this pillar.

Here’s the critical distinction: TIA cares about growth, not just proficiency.

TEA’s STAAR progress measure tracks how much a student grows from one year to the next compared to students who started at a similar level. This means:

A student who moves from “Did Not Meet Grade Level” to “Approaches Grade Level” demonstrates significant growth
A student who stays at “Meets Grade Level” but shows strong progress within that band also demonstrates growth
A student who scores “Masters” but showed no progress from their prior-year performance does not help your growth metric

This is the most important concept to internalize: you don’t need a classroom full of high achievers to earn TIA designation. You need a classroom of students who are growing.

STAAR Progress Measures Explained

TEA calculates STAAR progress using a Student Growth Percentile (SGP) model. Here’s how it works:

Each student’s current STAAR score is compared against students who had a similar score the previous year.
The student receives a growth percentile (1-99) showing how their growth compares to similar peers.
Your students’ growth percentiles are aggregated to produce your overall student growth measure.

A student with an SGP of 75 means they grew more than 75% of students who started at a similar level. That’s strong growth regardless of whether the student is performing at grade level.

What Growth Levels Mean for TIA

Most district TIA systems set thresholds something like this (check your specific district):

Recognized: Average student growth percentile around the 50th–60th percentile range
Exemplary: Average student growth percentile around the 60th–75th percentile range
Master: Average student growth percentile above the 75th percentile

These thresholds vary by district. Some use median SGPs, others use the percentage of students meeting expected growth. Know your district’s exact formula.

The “Approaches to Meets” Sweet Spot

If you want to maximize student growth for TIA purposes, focus your energy on the students with the most room to grow measurably. In practice, this usually means targeting:

Students at “Approaches Grade Level”

These students are close to proficiency. Moving them to “Meets” shows clear, measurable growth and often produces strong SGP scores. They typically:

Have foundational skills but gaps in specific areas
Respond well to targeted intervention
Can make significant jumps with consistent, focused instruction

Students at “Did Not Meet Grade Level”

Students furthest from proficiency often show the largest raw growth when they receive effective instruction. Moving a student from “Did Not Meet” to “Approaches” can produce exceptional SGP scores because the growth relative to similar peers is dramatic.

The Trap: Ignoring Middle and High Performers

Don’t fall into the trap of only focusing on struggling students. TIA measures overall student growth. Your “Meets” and “Masters” students need to grow too. If you neglect them, their flat SGPs drag down your aggregate score.

The best TIA growth data comes from classrooms where every student is growing, not just the ones below grade level.

Practical Strategies for Maximizing Student Growth

These aren’t theoretical suggestions. They’re what we’ve seen work in Texas classrooms where teachers consistently hit high growth marks.

1. Start With a Diagnostic — Before You Teach a Single Lesson

Before you begin any unit, give a pre-assessment that mirrors the rigor and format of STAAR. This serves two purposes:

For your instruction: You know exactly where each student is and what gaps to address
For your TIA evidence: You have documented baseline data showing where students started

Don’t use the same pre-assessment for every class. Differentiate based on grade level and subject. Use released STAAR items or items aligned to the same rigor level.

2. Build Data Walls (Physical or Digital)

Track every student’s progress visually. This doesn’t have to be public — many teachers use digital trackers or private data binders. What matters is that you can see at a glance:

Which students are on track for growth targets
Which students are stalling
Which TEKS/standards are causing the most trouble

Update your data wall after every major assessment. Weekly if possible.

3. Use the Three-Tier Intervention Model

Based on your data, sort students into three tiers for each skill or standard:

Tier 1 (On Track): These students got it. They need enrichment and extension, not reteach.
Tier 2 (Almost There): These students have partial understanding. They need targeted small-group instruction on specific misconceptions.
Tier 3 (Significant Gaps): These students need intensive, scaffolded instruction — possibly going back to prerequisite skills.

After each assessment, re-sort. Students move between tiers fluidly. This is differentiation that produces growth.

4. Spiral Review — Every Single Day

STAAR tests cumulative knowledge. Students who learned a skill in September but haven’t practiced it since will struggle in April. Build 5-10 minutes of spiral review into your daily routine:

Bell ringers that revisit previously taught standards
Exit tickets that mix current and past content
Weekly quizzes that pull from the entire year’s content

This prevents the “learn it and lose it” pattern that kills growth on cumulative assessments.

5. Analyze Released STAAR Items by Reporting Category

TEA releases STAAR items every year. Study them — not just for content, but for how questions are asked. STAAR has a specific style:

Multi-step problems that require applying multiple skills
Answer choices designed around common misconceptions
Scenarios that require analysis, not just recall

Practice with STAAR-formatted items regularly so students aren’t caught off guard by the format on test day. Growth happens when students aren’t just learning content — they’re learning how to demonstrate that content on the assessment.

6. Pre/Post Assessment Cycles for Every Unit

Structure every instructional unit with a clear growth measurement:

Pre-assessment (diagnostic, before instruction)
Instruction (differentiated based on pre-assessment data)
Formative checks (mid-unit, adjust instruction accordingly)
Post-assessment (same rigor as pre-assessment, measures growth)
Analysis (calculate individual and class growth, reteach as needed)

Document every cycle. This creates a paper trail of growth data that supports your TIA portfolio even beyond STAAR.

7. Goal-Setting Conferences With Students

Students who own their growth data tend to grow more. Hold individual conferences (even 3-5 minutes each) where students:

See their current data (use student-friendly language)
Set a specific, measurable growth goal
Identify one strategy they’ll use to reach it

Revisit these goals regularly. When students see their own growth, they’re motivated to keep pushing.

8. Strategic Test Prep (Not Drill-and-Kill)

Effective STAAR prep for TIA purposes isn’t about worksheets. It’s about:

Stamina building: Students need practice working through a full-length test section without giving up
Error analysis: After practice tests, have students analyze their wrong answers — why did they choose that answer? What was the misconception?
Time management: Teach students to pace themselves, skip and return to difficult items, and eliminate answer choices

These meta-cognitive skills produce growth because students perform closer to their actual ability level on the test.

Tracking Growth for TIA: What to Document

Beyond the official STAAR data that feeds into your TIA evaluation, build a personal evidence file that demonstrates your impact on student growth:

Assessment Data Portfolio

Keep records of:

Pre/post assessment scores for every unit (with student names redacted for sharing)
Class-wide growth trends showing improvement over the year
Individual student growth stories — anonymized case studies of students who made significant gains
Comparison data showing how your students’ growth compares to grade-level or district averages

Instructional Evidence

Document the practices driving that growth:

Lesson plans showing data-driven differentiation
Small group instructional plans based on assessment data
Intervention logs showing targeted support for struggling students
Student goal-setting artifacts

The Growth Narrative

Write a brief narrative (1-2 pages) at the end of the year explaining:

Your approach to driving student growth
Specific strategies you implemented
How you used data to adjust instruction
Results and what you’d refine next year

This narrative isn’t always required for TIA, but it strengthens your portfolio and helps you articulate your impact during the designation process.

What About Non-STAAR Teachers?

If you teach a non-STAAR grade or subject, your district must still provide a student growth pathway. Common approaches include:

District benchmark assessments with pre/post growth measures
Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) — teacher-created growth goals approved by administration
National or state assessments in your subject area (AP exams, industry certifications, etc.)
Portfolio-based growth evidence with rubric-scored student work

The strategies above still apply: start with a baseline, track growth systematically, differentiate based on data, and document everything. The assessment vehicle is different, but the growth mindset is identical.

Common Mistakes That Hurt Student Growth Scores

Teaching to the Middle

If you design instruction for the “average” student, you’re failing your lowest and highest performers. Both groups need targeted support. Differentiate.

Ignoring the Data Until March

Teachers who only look at data during “STAAR prep season” miss months of opportunity to adjust instruction. Look at data weekly. Adjust constantly.

Over-Relying on Whole-Group Instruction

Whole-group lecture doesn’t produce differentiated growth. Mix in small-group rotations, stations, independent practice at varied levels, and one-on-one conferencing.

Not Pre-Assessing

If you don’t know where students started, you can’t measure growth. And without documented growth, your TIA student growth pillar is weaker.

Forgetting to Document

You might be producing incredible student growth, but if you haven’t tracked and documented it, it’s invisible to the TIA evaluation process. Track everything in real-time — don’t try to reconstruct it at the end of the year.

Putting It All Together: A Year-Long Growth Timeline

Month	Action
August	Administer beginning-of-year diagnostics. Set baseline.
September	Begin unit-level pre/post cycles. Start data tracking.
October	First student goal-setting conferences.
November	Mid-fall data review. Adjust groupings and interventions.
December	Semester 1 benchmark. Analyze cumulative growth.
January	Reset goals with students. Plan Semester 2 differentiation.
February	Intensify spiral review. Begin strategic STAAR prep.
March	Practice test analysis. Final intervention pushes.
April	STAAR testing window. Students are prepared and confident.
May	Compile growth data. Build evidence portfolio. Reflect.

The Financial Reality

Let’s make the connection concrete. If you teach 4th-grade math in a participating district:

Your students’ STAAR growth data makes up 30-40% of your TIA evaluation (district-dependent)
Strong growth data — say, a median SGP of 70+ — puts you in range for Exemplary or Master
Combined with strong observation scores, that’s $6,000 to $32,000 per year on top of your salary
That designation lasts five years and is portable

Over five years, a Master designation at a high-need campus could mean $160,000 in additional compensation. For doing what you’re already doing — just doing it with more intentionality and documentation.

That’s not a fantasy. That’s the math.

Start Now

You don’t need to wait for STAAR season to start building your growth story. The strategies in this guide work year-round:

Pre-assess before every unit
Track growth systematically
Differentiate based on data
Document everything
Help students own their growth

Every data point you collect, every intervention you run, every student who grows under your instruction — that’s your TIA case being built in real time.

Your students’ growth is your designation. Start tracking it today.

Want the full picture? Check out our TIA Complete Guide and T-TESS observation strategies.