Testing Information2011-2012

PTA Presentation

January 5, 2012

Primary Reading Assessment – Grades Pre-K – 2

• An assessment tool designed to help teachers determine a student’s reading performance in terms of meeting benchmarks.

• Fall September 6 – September 30

• Winter January 9 – February 3

• Spring May 7 – June 1

MAP-P Measurement of Academic Progress for

Primary Grades Gr. K-2

• A computer-adaptive achievement test which assesses to student’s skill level on different math concepts.

• Measures academic growth over time• Administered to grades K-2 in the fall, winter, and spring. • MAP-P results identify the skills and concepts students

have learned and diagnose instructional needs.• MAP-P is the newest MCPS assessment tool under

Curriculum 2.0.• Fall Window August 31 – October 14• Winter Window January 3 – February 10• Spring Window April 23– June 1

MAP-R Measures of Academic Progress Assessment in Reading Gr. 3-5

• A computer-adaptive achievement test which assesses to student’s skill level in the different reading achievement areas.

• Measures academic growth over time• Administered to grades 3-5 in the fall, winter, and spring. • MAP-R results identify the skills and concepts students

have learned and diagnose instructional needs.• Schools can use this info to implement interventions to

increase the likelihood of students’ scoring proficient or advanced on MSA.

• Fall Window August 31 – October 14• Winter Window January 3 – February 10• Spring Window April 23– June 1

Gifted & talentedGrade 2 Global Screening

New Student Screening Gr. 3-5• The purpose of Global Screening is to:• Recognize those students whose performance,

motivation, or potential ability indicates the needs for accelerated and enriched instruction

• Match student strengths with instruction and programs that will support and extend these strengths.

• 5 subtests administered: Sequencing, Analogies, Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning (Words & Context)

In View April 10 – 20 Raven Test: February 27 – June 12

Gifted & talentedRescreening

(GR 3-5)• Take another look at a student who has already been

screened• Recognize those students whose performance,

motivation, or potential ability indicates the needs for accelerated and enriched instruction

• Match student strengths with instruction and programs that will support and extend these strengths.

Inview Analogies & Quantitave Reasoning & Raven Test: February 27 – June 12 Inview: Gr. 3, 4 & 5 – April 10-20

MSA Maryland School Assessment

MSA provides national norm-referenced and Maryland criterion-referenced data. The norm-referenced items provide national percentile ranks to describe how well a student performed in reading and mathematics compared to his/her peers nationally. The criterion-referenced items provide proficiency scores (expressed as Basic, Proficient, or Advanced proficiency level) to describe how well a student has mastered the reading and mathematics content specified in the Maryland Content Standards.

Understanding MSA (Maryland School Assessment)

• Meets the state testing requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

• Assesses the Maryland Content Standards, which is the basis for the MCPS curriculum

• Measures Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – measure that is used to track academic progress for schools and school systems. Schools must achieve all school targets (reading, math, science, attendance)

• Describes student performance in reading and math in grades 3-8• Describes student performance in science Grades 5 and 8• Selected response (multiple choice) and Brief Constructed

Response (BCR)• Reading questions focus on word study, vocabulary, and reading

comprehension• Performance levels: Basic (not passing grade level academic

standards); Proficient (passing grade level academic standards); Advanced (performing above standards)

MSA Testing Schedule

MSA Reading• Grades 3 & 4 March 12 - 13• Grade 5 March 14 - 15MSA Mathematics• Grades 3 & 4 March 16 & 19• Grade 5 March 20 – 21

MSA Make-Up Tests March 22-27

MSA Science • Grade 5 April 30-May 1 (Make-Up May 2-

4)

TN2 for Grade 2

• TN2 assesses skills in reading, language, math, language mechanics, and math computation. As a norm-referenced assessment, it compares the performance of tested students with performance of a sample of diverse students across the nation.

• TN2 April 16 – April 20

WIDA (Worldclass Instructional Design & Assessment

ACCESS for ELLUnder the No Child Left Behind legislation, states must measure the development of the English language proficiency skills of their English language learners (ELL) in grades K-12 on an annual basis within the domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Members of the WIDA Consortium use ACCESS of ELLs to fulfill the requirement. Therefore, the primary purpose of ACCESS for ELLs is to measure English proficiency growth tied to the criteria of the WIDA Consortium’s English language Proficiency Standards, which are aligned to the academic content area standards of every WIDA state.

February 6 – March 23

Gifted & Talented2011-2012

Testing and Programming

Fall 2011The GT Screening Process

Magnet and Choice ProgramsGrade 5

• Applications mailed to all 5th grade students in September 2011

• Parent Meetings held October 2011• Deadline for applications is November 7, 2011• Magnet testing on December, 2011• Recommendations due to MCPS office by

December 12, 2011

Highly Gifted Center Grade 4 & 5

• MCPS sent applications to all Grade 3 homes in September 2011

• Parents return applications directly to DCCAPS – NO applications accepted after November 7, 2011

• GT Committee & Grade 3 meet to complete school recommendation and teacher surveys December 2011

• Student Folders due in DCCAPS by December 12, 2011• Testing for HGC is January 13, 2012 @ SMES• Decisions made April 1, 2012• HGC Open Houses – April 11 – 17, 2012• Deadline for accepting decisions – April 20, 2012

Gifted & talentedGrade 2 Global Screening

New Student Screening Gr. 3-5

• InView Test: April 10 - 20, 2012

• Parent, Teacher and Staff Surveys

• GT Committee decisions in May 2012

• Parents notified about decisions by June 1, 2012

Gifted & talentedRescreening

(GR 3-5)• Take another look at a student who has already been

screened• Recognize those students whose performance, motivation, or

potential ability indicates the needs for accelerated and enriched instruction

• Match student strengths with instruction and programs that will support and extend these strengths.

Inview Analogies & Quantitave Reasoning April 10 – 20, 2012

Raven Test : February 27 – June 12, 2012

Why do we screen the students?

Screen students to :

• Recognize students whose performance, motivation, or potential ability indicates the need for accelerated and enriched instruction.

• Match student strengths with instruction and programs that will support and extend these strengths.

Multiple Criteria for GT Identification

Parent SurveyTeacher SurveyStaff AdvocacyReading and Math LevelsInView― Analogies SubtestInView― Quantitative Reasoning SubtestRaven Additional information

GT Committee

• Includes principal, classroom teachers, and other staff in the building, such as ESOL teacher, resource teacher, reading teacher, counselor

• Collects and analyzes student data

• Makes recommendations about instruction based on data

• Makes decisions about identification based on data

Rigorous Programming at Every School

Instructional Service Options

• Reading/Language Arts– Jacob’s Ladder– William and Mary– Junior Great Books– Above level texts

•Mathematics --Grade 3 w/ enrichment tasks --Grade 4 --Grade 5 --Grade 6 --Grade 7

It is not about a label. It is about…

• Access to opportunity ― no gatekeeping, no barriers

• Equity in high expectations for all students

• Quality of a challenging instructional program

Access + Equity + Quality = SuccessAccess + Equity + Quality = Success

POTENTIALPOTENTIAL

What educators and psychologists recognize as giftedness in children is really potential giftedness, which denotes promise rather than fulfillment, and probabilities rather than certainties, about future accomplishments. How high the probabilities are in any given case depends on the match between a child’s budding talents and the kinds of nurturance provided.

Tips for Easing Test Anxiety

1. Reassure your child

Tell your child that the test will be used to evaluate how well a school or school district is educating its students. It's important for kids to have a sense of the broader context.

2. Put the test in perspective

Explain that test scores are looked at along with many other pieces of information in determining your child's achievement level. Her grades and progress over time, for example, are also very important. This may be a big test, but it is still just one test!

3. Take a deep breath

If your child is a very nervous test taker, have her do deep breathing exercises before the test. She can take a deep breath and count to ten. Then have her take shorter deep breaths in between passages or sections of the test -- counting to three only. This exercise is fast and simple, but it really works!

Finally…

remind your child to relax and do his/her best!