Our school will soon administer the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) Reading Test to all third grade students. The actual test is scheduled to be given on Tuesday, March 29th, Wednesday, March 30th and Thursday, March 31st. Make-up sessions will be scheduled for April 1st as well as during the following week, if necessary. The students have been preparing not for this test but to meet grade level expectations and working toward the standards. It is our hope that students will carry over the strategies and knowledge that they have gained over the past years in school to work to the best of their ability on the MCAS. Classrooms will participate in a Practice Test if they have not already done so within their classrooms. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that all third grade students complete all portions of the test. This year the test sessions estimate one hour the first day, thirty minutes the second day and a timed 60 minutes for the third day. The test is designed to provide data regarding the reading proficiency of each child at the end of third grade. It is our educational goal that all children have learned to read at a grade appropriate level by the end of third grade and the MCAS Third Grade Reading Test is an important tool for assessing this goal.
You will receive a report containing your child’s individual results. Children will be assessed as performing in one of four categories: warning, needs improvement, proficient, or advanced. When you receive the report from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), it will include other specific information as well.
In an effort to ease any anxieties and to review strategies, I went around to each classroom today and read the book, Testing Miss Malarkey. It is a very silly story about testing but we related it to what it would really look like here. We do not want them to be overly anxious, but we do wish them to understand that it is important to try their best and demonstrate their highest reading ability. We will be providing them with snacks during testing days. The snacks will be goldfish and a juice. We told the students to bring in snacks as an extra for those days.
You can help at home by making sure your child:
Gets plenty of sleep each night
Eats a nourishing breakfast each morning
Encourage your child to try their best.
Your care and concern are greatly appreciated. We know we can count on your support. Please call us with any questions or concerns. We also wanted to let you know in advance that this year all third grade students will be tested in math on May 17th and 18th. Make ups will be the 19th and a portion
of the following week.
Thank you and have a wonderful long weekend,
Mrs. King
Principal
