Welcome to theTAYLOR ELEMENTARY

SCHOOLIntroduction to MCAS

MassachusettsComprehensiveAssessmentSystem

MCAS

Why does my child need to take the MCAS?

• The law requires all public school students in Massachusetts to take part in the MCAS*

• MCAS measures performance based on Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Learning Standards

• MCAS provides a measure of accountability for students, schools, and districts

• In grade 10, students must pass English Language Arts and Math (Class of 2010 must pass Science and Technology/Engineering, Class of 2012 must pass US History)

• *ELL students

Questions to be answered today…

• What is MCAS?• When was MCAS?• What tests did my child take part in?• How many sessions of testing did my child participate in?• How many questions did my child answer?• What type of questions was my child asked?• What do I do with the information I received?• What does the school do with the information from MCAS?• How can I support my child for future MCAS?• Where can I find additional information?

What is MCAS?• MCAS: an assessment designed to meet requirements

of Educational Reform Law of 1993 • All tests are un-timed• Grade 3 MCAS: Reading and Math• Grade 4 MCAS: Composition, Reading, and Math• Composition-rough draft and final copy• Reading-3 sessions over a two week period

– Practice is a one paragraph story with 3 questions– Read selection and answer multiple choice and open

response questions– Multiple choice-1 point each– Open Response based on each questions (see fraction)

What is MCAS?Math-2 sessions over a two week period.

– Practice is multiple choice and short answer– The test is assesses:

• Number Sense and Operations• Patterns, Relationships ,and Algebra• Geometry• Measurement• Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability

– The test has multiple choice, short answer, and open response questions

• Multiple choice-1 point each• Short answer-1 point each (refer to each question for scoring guide)• Open Response- based on each question (refer to each question for scoring

guide)

When was MCAS?Grade 3 MCAS -Reading end of March/beginning of

April-Math middle of May

Grade 4 MCAS-Long Composition March 25 -Reading end of March/beginning of

April-Math middle of May

How many questions did my child answer?

• Reading– selection followed by multiple choice questions and open

response questions– Last year children responded to 60+ questions only 42 were

scored questions

• MATH– Arrangement of word problems, tables, graphs, number

sentences with higher order math skills embedded – There were only 3 computation problems– Last year children responded to 50+ questions only 35 were

scored questions

What type of questions was my child asked?

• The release questions from past tests are available through

The Department of education website (for all grades dating back to 2003)

http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html

Children’s author Joanna Cole is best known for her Magic School Bus books. Read this selection about her and then answer the questions that follow.

Joanna Cole by Deborah Kovacs and James Preller

• Born:August 11, 1944, in Newark, New Jersey

• Home: Sandy Hook, Connecticut

• W hat’s Joanna Cole interested in? Well, just about everything. And when Joanna Cole is interested in something, she usually writes a book about it. She’s written about fleas, cockroaches, dinosaurs, chicks, fish, saber-toothed tigers, frogs, horses, snakes, cars, puppies, insects, and (whew!) babies.

• “I was never one of those wonderful students who gets straight A’s and everything right on the tests,” says Joanna Cole. “But I’ve always been obsessed with logical thinking. I used to argue with my teachers when things didn’t make sense to me.”

• Joanna grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. Her interest in science grew from her natural curiosity about the world in which she lived. “We had a small backyard, and I was the gardener in the family. I spent a lot of time planting flowers, daydreaming, watching ants, and catching bugs.”

• IT BEGAN WITHCOCKROACHES

• All writers must begin somewhere, and Joanna Cole began her career by writing about cockroaches. Joanna was working as a library-teacher in a Brooklyn elementary school when her father gave her an article. Joanna remembers, “It was about cockroaches and how they were here before the dinosaurs. It got me thinking about all those science books I’d read as a kid—insects had been a special interest of mine—and it occurred to me that there wasn’t one about cockroaches.”

• As a nonfiction writer, Joanna does a lot of research before she writes a single word. “The impossible dream is to know everything,” she says. “When you are writing the book, you must select what you want to go into the book. What always happens is that more things are left out than can go in.

• “I have a question that I ask myself as I write: Why does the reader want to turn the page? I never feel that kids are going to turn the page just because it’s there to turn. There has to be a question that’s in a reader’s mind—and he or she turns the page to find the answers.

• it’s fun to be a writer. That question always leaves

me a little speechless. Because the answer is, of course, yes and no. When it’s going well, there’s nothing more exhilarating. But it’s so much work!”

• Joanna has been praised by both teachers and children for being able to make science interesting and understandable. And now, with the Magic School Bus series, she’s done the impossible—she’s made science funny.

• “Before I started writing the first Magic School Bus book, I had a lot of lofty goals—and I had no idea whether they could be achieved. I wanted it to be a very good science book. I also wanted it to be a good story, a story you might read even without the science. And I wanted it to be genuinely funny. Well this was terrifying to me. I couldn’t work at all. I cleaned out closets, answered letters, went shopping—anything but sit down and write. But eventually I did it, even though I was scared.”

• The Magic School Bus books were a huge success. Readers across the country loved them. They especially loved the wacky science teacher, Ms. Frizzle. “We were concerned that teachers might be offended by Ms. Frizzle, with her crazy clothes.

• But what’s happened is that teachers love her. Whenever Bruce Degen, the illustrator, and I go to schools, there’s almost always somebody dressed as Ms. Frizzle. The teachers are even asking for Ms. Frizzle outfits.”

• In addition to her many science books, Joanna Cole has written over twenty books of fiction including Don’t Tell the Whole World, The Clown-Arounds, Bony-Legs, Doctor Change, Monster Manners, and The Missing Tooth.

• Joanna Cole finds pleasure and excitement in each new project she takes on. “When I was starting to write The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body, I didn’t know whose body the bus would travel in. Then I thought of the idea that Ms. Frizzle and her class would go into Arnold’s body, and that he would eat them as Cheesie Wheesies. That was one of the happiest moments of my life. I was walking on clouds all day.”

Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions 13 through 20 by filling in the circle next to the best answer.

What type of information will I receive after the test?

• With your child’s results you will receive a guide to reading the report (green pamphlet) as well as a legend on the Parent/Guardian Report.

• The Parent/Guardian Report will show how well your third grade child performed in Reading and Math compared to the average performance of third grade students at the Taylor School, the town of Foxborough and the state overall.

• The Parent/Guardian Report will show range of scores (performance level) and the test item scores for your child.

How can I support my child for MCAS?

• Keep stress level down. • Make sure your child has a good night’s rest, eats

properly, and gets to school on time every day.• Emphasize MCAS has no impact on your child’s

report card, grades, or promotion and encourage your child to do their best.

• Communicate with your child’s teacher regularly to see how the family can support your child’s learning at school.

How can I support my child for MCAS?

• Ask your child about the homework that is due tomorrow and next week, and make sure it gets done. Send your child to school prepared to learn.

• Ask your child to explain to you what he or she is studying. These conversations help you to follow your child’s progress, and help him or her to remember what has been learned.

• Encourage your child to use Study Island at home.– Username is: their student number@taylor– password is: last name in all capitals

Where can I find additional information?

• The Taylor School Websitehttp://foxborough.k12.ma.us/fpsweb/TAY/TAYindex.html

• The Department of Education www.doe.mass.edu

• all test items from past MCAS tests are available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html