Weekly Update for March 28th, 2016
In this Week's Memo 3/28
- MCAS Season
- Dates to Note
The MCAS testing window for English Language Arts for grades 3-8 begin this week. At Lynch we begin this Tuesday 3/29 with grade 5. Each student in grades 3-5 will have three sessions total for ELA assessments.
As many of your classroom teachers have explained, we have identified the sessions as - Session #1, #2 and #2B.
There have a been a few changes from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) this year. To help better explain the ELA testing process for MCAS, we the elementary school principals are including the following information in our blogs/newsletters:
"Our students in grades three, four, and five will soon participate in the annual standardized testing program, Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). This particular year (2016) is considered a transitional year for these assessments. The State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has determined that for 2017 and beyond, students will participate in a newly revised assessment system called MCAS 2.0. At this time, there is limited information regarding the MCAS 2.0 testing assessment. Once these details are revealed, they will be shared.
With 2016 being a transitional testing year, students in grades three, four, and five will continue to participate in MCAS testing in both March/April and May. However, the State Department has added some practice test items to the standard MCAS assessment in order to prepare students for the newly revised assessments beginning in 2017 and beyond.
The revisions made to the assessment consist of a limited number of practice items in both the math and English Language Arts (ELA) assessment. Please note that for the ELA assessment, a small portion of the newly introduced practice items will be presented in a 60 minute timed session.
In the fall, the scores from the MCAS portion will be scored and reported to both home and school in the usual manner. The scores from the newly introduced practice test items will be reported as a standalone reporting category separate from the MCAS scores and reporting. The practice test items will not be factored into students’ MCAS performance. Please see our assigned testing dates below.
The continued objective of this assessment is for students to have an opportunity to demonstrate their day-to-day learning. Each is well-prepared and ready to show off his/her many, many skills!"
MCAS Dates to note:
Tuesday 3/29 Grade 5 MCAS ELA #1
Wednesday 3/30 Grade 5 MCAS ELA #2
Thursday 3/31 Grade 3 MCAS ELA #1
Friday 4/1 Grade 3 MCAS ELA #2
Monday 4/4 Grade 5 MCAS ELA #2B
Tuesday 4/5 Grade 4 MCAS ELA #1
Wednesday 4/6 Grade 4 MCAS ELA #2
Thursday 4/7 Grade 3 MCAS #2B
Monday 4/11 Grade 4 #2B
Have a great week!
Mr. Dupuis