Attendance, Readiness Important as Wicomico Students in Grades 3-8 Take Maryland School Assessments (MSA) Starting March 17
Wicomico students in grades 3-8 should come to school well rested and ready to do their best March 17, the first day of 2009 Maryland School Assessment (MSA) testing.
The Reading MSA will be given March 17 and 18 for students in grades 3-8. Middle school students will the Math MSA on March 19 and 20, while intermediate students (grades 3-5) will take the Math MSA on March 24 and 25.
Students should come to school on time and ready to learn every day of the school year, but timeliness and attendance are particularly important during MSA. Arriving on time will enable the student to know the directions and expectations for completing the MSA, along with the rest of the class.
"Being on time to school and class, and being present for the school day, are important parts of a student's routine every day, and they are particularly important practices during MSA testing," Director of Secondary Education Kim Miles said. "If students are in attendance and on time, the teacher will be able to maintain a comfortable class routine, give clear and timely instructions, encourage all students to do their best, and ensure that students have the best opportunity to show their command of skills and strategies learned throughout the school year."
Students who are at their desk on time for the start of the school day have a better chance of being comfortable and focused when the MSA testing begins, and they will be in place to receive materials and directions needed for the test. Students must arrive on time so that staff can administer the test in a timely and structured environment without any interruptions. Being on time is a positive work habit that will pay off during MSA testing and every day.
"All students should arrive on time and prepared to do their very best," said Margo Handy, Director of Elementary Education.
The annual administration of the MSA provides an opportunity for students to showcase the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout the year. Scores on the MSA are shared with parents through a Home Report, so students should perform their best to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires every state to measure reading, math and science achievement at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Maryland fulfills NCLB by reporting MSA and HSA scores to the U.S. Department of Education. Students in grades 5 and 8 will take the Science MSA in late April or early May.
Students take the MSA tests for approximately 90 minutes each day, starting on March 17. There are four days of testing -- two days for reading and two days for mathematics. The test includes multiple-choice questions and questions that require the student to write a short response. Information about the MSA, along with sample test questions, are available on the Web at www.marylandpublicschools.org.
Statewide tests like the MSA are useful for guiding school-wide curriculum development efforts, creating or modifying classroom lesson plans, understanding a child’s academic strengths and weaknesses, developing individualized strategies for that child, and providing information on where a child may need extra support.
MSA scores are reported in terms of basic, proficient, and advanced performance. Basic is the lowest level of performance. Proficient is the middle level and Advanced is the highest level. The goal is to have all students perform at the Proficient or Advanced level.
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4 comments:
To protest teaching for the test, that is, teaching exclusively test taking methods, all our above average students should deliberately fail. It must be awfully tiresome to do this sort of work in school when they could be really learning and exploring.
Last year my son's third grade teacher told me that nothing on the MSA was beyond the third grade level. He scored advanced so I asked her if he was at a fourth or fifth grade level. She said there is only third grade work on the test so being rated basic means can't do most grade level work, and proficient means can do a fair amount of grade level work and advanced means can do a lot of grade level work which in my opinion is not advanced at all. What a farce this whole thing is. Do they take any nationally scored tests before SATs?
1:05
Are you kidding me? A student is advanced for doing work on his grade level? That seems like they're tricking us into thinking the kids are getting a better education than they really are. To shoreatheist, nobody cares if above average students do poorly unless those kids are in special ed. or get free lunch or don't speak English or are black. These are the only scores that count for No Child Left Behind, and the rest of the kids scores can be perfect but the school still ranks low if any of these four groups don't do high enough. Some kids are in three of those groups so talk about getting lots of attention in class while the rest of the kids just wait for them to catch on.
Like most other things in life....it all boils down to money. Teachers don't like giving the test (it doesn't test what kind of teacher your child has), and students don't like taking the test (maybe your child isn't a good test taker)....if you want your school district to have federal money and your child's teacher to be left alone to teach what he/she knows should be taught, then...in compliance with the "No Child Left Behind" legislation, ALL of the students in the school need to perform proficient or better on the MSA. Otherwise, it will be the school and the teachers who take the brunt of the heat. Nothing good can come of intentionally failing the test. Good teachers will not forgo learning and exploring for the sake of a test.
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