State Testing Information

Dear Families, April 27th, 2011

Soon your child will begin taking the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) which measures reading, writing, and math achievement. This is a large–scale state assessment of all students in the state of Washington at grades 3,4,5,7,8 and 10. The test will be scored against a pre-established standard which means your child’s score will be an individual score, not a score that is compared to other students. Scores will be reported to the school district and to you in the Fall. These tests give information about how your child is doing in general academic areas on a given day. Please note an important change from past years, the sessions for Math and Reading are only one day each. The two days of writing are separate and disctinct writing prompts. The students will have two opportunities to use the entire writing process; pre-write, draft, revise, edit and final draft. Therefore, students need to be focused, and time management skills will be of utmost importance during each of the one day sessions.

Here is the schedule for the testing days; testing sessions begin at 9:30:

Tuesday May 3rd - Reading

Tuesday May 10th - Writing Day 1

Tuesday May 12th - Writing Day 2

Tuesday May 17th - Math

Please make sure your child attends school every day, arrives on time, and is not taken out of school early on testing and non-testing days. Non-testing days will be used for review and building confidence. Please make sure that he/she has breakfast before coming to school. Please schedule medical and dental appointments outside of these days. If a section of the MSP is missed, a make-up session will be necessary, otherwise, that student will be considered “not proficient.” Once a test has begun, the student must complete it that day. If for any reason a child begins, but fails to complete the test, no make up is allowed for that section. Students must complete all sections of the test. Make-up testing is additional time out of the classroom, and the environment for taking a make-up test is different from what your child is used to in the classroom.

The state has changed some of the testing requirements in order to further standardize the administration of the MSP. The intention is to have any section of the test completed in a single block of time, so students do not have the opportunity to discuss it or do additional preparation. Every student should be allowed to have the time she/he individually needs to complete each section of the test. On testing days we will not be having PE, Music nor Library. We will have regular lunch schedules during testing.

Taking any kind of test requires a lot of concentration and energy. Short breaks will be allowed in order to relax and have a snack I will be providing some snacks for the students: graham crackers, peppermints, dark chocolates and apple juice. Our school occupational therapist has also recommended snacks with an alerting sensory component such as crunchy apple slices, carrot and celery sticks, chewy fruit leather, jerky or licorice. Please keep these in mind when packing a snack for your son/daughter on testing days.

We know that scheduling some fun, stress-relieving activities is a wise thing to do. In keeping with this idea, your child’s homework will be curtailed during testing, so he/she will have time to play and relax. Encourage your child to do his/her very best and explain that you will be happy with that kind of effort. Also encourage your child to work hard and to even try questions that seem hard – to not be discouraged by difficult questions. Explain to your child that paying attention to directions for the test and following them carefully will help him/her show their best work.

As you can see, we in the Evergreen School District, take testing very seriously. We will do what it takes to ensure all students are ready to do their very best! We also recognize and value your contribution toward this goal. Our 4th grade students have worked very hard this year to reach a high level of learning. As a result of these efforts, students recognize their strengths, and we believe they are ready to do their best on the MSP! What an opportunity! Thank you in advance for helping us to make this the best testing session ever.