Texas Success Initiative Assessment Offered at Blinn
The Blinn College District and the Columbus, Fayetteville, Flatonia, Schulenburg, and Weimar ISD’s recently launched a new partnership designed to increase high school dual credit completion and establish seamless pathways toward postsecondary awards and industry credentials.
The Alliance for College and Career Student Success (ACCSS) in South-Central Texas partners collaborate to advise students regarding their college and career pathways, including technical and career training options. ACCSS will be offering a FREE TSIA2 (Texas Success Initiative Assessment) Boot Camp the week of June 13 at Blinn College-Schulenburg Campus from 9 to 11:30 a.m. June 13- 15 will cover English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) and June 16-17 will cover Math.
On the last day of each minicamp, lunch will be provided and students are encouraged to stay on campus to take the coordinating TSIA2 test at no charge. The TSIA2 Boot Camp and testing are being underwritten by the ACCSS grant program which is funded by the Greater Texas Foundation.
The Texas Success Initiative was enacted by Texas legislators for all public state institutions of higher education to follow. The TSI Assessment (TSIA), which may be required of all first-time entering students, will determine students’ readiness for collegelevel coursework in reading, writing, and mathematics. Students participating in dual credit classes must meet the minimum passing standards to enroll. The TSI Assessment is an untimed computerized test to be taken in two sections: ELAR and Math. Full testing of both sections can take up to four to five hours.
An updated TSIA exam (TSIA2) was launched on Jan. 11, 2021. TSIA2 has taken the place of the previous TSIA exam. If you meet the college readiness benchmarks with the previous TSIA exam, the scores will be valid for five years from the date that you took the exam. The same will be the case for the TSIA2 exam. The TSIA2 differs from the TSIA by having reading and writing combined into one section, called the English Language Arts Reading (ELAR) section. There is still a mathematics section for the exam.
Students may be exempt or waived from testing by meeting minimum score requirements in several testing areas: ACT, SAT, STAAR EOC, or previous coursework. Additionally, if you have a documented disability and need test accommodations, these may be provided by your high school or by Blinn Office for Students with Disabilities. More information may be found at https://www.blinn.edu/testing/tsi/index.html.
Through ACCSS, students will have the opportunity to choose a pathway and open the door to graduating high school with up to 60 college hours and/or associates degree or certificate(s) that will help them acquire a job in a high demand, high paying field.
For more information, contact Susie Shank, Director, at (979) 743-5239 or susie.shank@blinn.edu.