This year's state testing will begin in all grades of language arts the week of May 11th and all grades of math will follow the week of May 18th. 8th grade Science will test on May 26th and 27th.
I want to encourage our students to participate in state testing. Not only is the state test a good way to practice for future standardized testing environments like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, etc... but we also see that our students do great work and the vast majority of them go to high school ready for the academic requirements of 9th grade. However, when the state calculates SBMS student success on state tests, we don't see that competency reflected. So why the discrepancy? We believe it largely comes down to how opt-out data is handled by the state.
Students who are opted-out of taking state tests are instantly counted as failing the state tests. We believe that largely because of this calculation, our school has been designated as a school needing improvement, a status that we feel does not accurately reflect the level of work that our students demonstrate to us. Last year we had about 40% of our students opt-out of state testing.
We would like to show the state what we know our students can do. To do that we need our students to participate in testing. I want to emphasize that we receive no additional funding for higher rates of participation or higher test scores.
A Simplified Testing Schedule
To make the testing process as smooth and low-stress as possible, we are changing how we administer the tests:
- No Half-Day Sessions: We will not be disrupting the entire school day with special testing blocks.
- Testing During the Class Period: Students will simply participate in the state testing during their regularly scheduled ELA. math, or 8th grade science class. Students will follow their typical daily schedule for all other periods.
- Please note that students who still choose to opt out will remain in the classroom with their teacher during that time.
If you do decide to opt-out your child from state testing, you may do so by
going here and following the directions for accessing the paper form, and we have opt-out forms in the office.
You can learn more about state testing by
clicking here and you can always contact me. I am happy to connect with you about this topic.
