New Review: Measuring Up to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills: Reading

Learning List now features reviews of Mastery Education’s Measuring Up to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills: Reading.  This supplemental print resource helps students in grades 3-8 (i.e., Levels C-H) prepare for STAAR reading tests. Content is organized in short lessons that address specific TEKS. Instruction provides ample opportunities for students to practice and apply reading comprehension skills.

Content is scaffolded, building from simple to more complex concepts. Instruction is organized in chapters that address the TEKS for each grade level (e.g., make predictions). Each chapter is made up of short lessons that address specific TEKS. Lessons are presented in three parts:

1. Each lesson begins with an introduction titled Understand the TEKS that supports direct instruction.
2. Guided Instruction provides a reading passage for guided practice of new skills.
3. On Your Own presents a second independent practice reading passage for students to read independently.

Most chapters include one or more “STAAR Minitests” formatted to reflect the STAAR exam. Minitests combine concepts from multiple lessons and require that students use higher-level thinking skills. Teacher editions also contain two versions of a cumulative STAAR practice test, a table identifying the TEKS addressed by each practice test problem, and a prescriptive answer key to support reteaching. The prescriptive answer key identifies the lessons where the knowledge and skills addressed by each problem are taught. All practice tests are formatted to reflect the STAAR exam.

 About Mastery Education*

Mastery Education®, formerly Peoples Education, is a creator of print and online educational materials for the K-12 school market, best known for the flagship brand Measuring Up®. The company focuses on supplemental instructional and practice materials that are standards-based and customized for specific markets. Founded in 1991, Mastery Education has a long history of accurate and astute content creation, working closely with educational partners and analyzing mandated standards and assessment criteria in order to create the most useful and relevant teacher support tools.

*The content in this section is provided by or adapted from Mastery Education.

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