One six-weeks down! Even though high school students will have to wait a couple more weeks before they receive report cards, the first six-weeks of school has been completed. Even in the midst of all the other activities, six-weeks of instruction is history! Parents, hopefully you have seen an example of a CSCOPE test in each of the core subjects: ELA, math, science, and social studies. We appreciate the great turn out at Open House on September 26th! Open house was a good opportunity to receive information from teachers about the CSCOPE assessments. Teachers have the same anxiety about the CSCOPE assessments. They are difficult, but they are helping to prepare for the rigor of the STAAR test, our new state assessment that all students will be responsible for taking in the spring of 2012 (Grades 3-8). 9th graders will take End of Course Exams under the STAAR assessment system. 10th and 11th graders are responsible for TAKS. Parents, you are able to see what the state standards are for each subject by logging on to the TEA website http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ and clicking “Curriculum” link. One thing that will be different for students taking the STAAR assessment is the rigor of the test. Most of us have taken tests, and we recognize that most tests have a mix of easy and difficult questions. On the TAKS test, a large percentage of the test items were easy or medium difficulty. There were a few really difficult questions, but the percentage was low. The state standards for each core subject (English, math, science, and social studies) are written to a rigorous level; however, TAKS really tested students at a lower level than the TEKS (state standards) were written. The new STAAR exam will do a better job matching the rigor of the state standards. These TEKS (Texas standards) have been categorized as having Readiness Standards, Supporting Standards, and Processing Standards in grades that have state assessments. Grades below 3rd grade have Foundational Standards. School districts are being told that the new STAAR exam will consist of 65% Readiness Standard type questions (the hard ones!) and 35% of Supporting Standards (the easy to medium ones). Time is our enemy when preparing students to tackle this new assessment. It will not consist of items that can be memorized. They must be learned. For example, look at the following two 5th grade math questions. One contains a Readiness Standard and one contains a Supporting Standard. These questions are examples taken from CSCOPE Unit Assessments. 5th Grade MathEXAMPLE 1: The largest island in the world is Greenland, with an area of 2,175,600 square miles. In this number, in what place is the digit 7? A. millionsB. hundred thousandsC. ten thousandsD. thousands The question above is an example of a Supporting Standard (30% of questions on STAAR assessment). 5.1A-use place value to read, write, compare, and order whole numbers through the 999,999,999,999: EXAMPLE 2: Tracks 1, 2, 3, and 4 of a certain compact disk had songs with lengths of 3.14 minutes, 4.21, 4 minutes, and 2.5 minutes. How many minutes of music were on tracks 1, 2, 3, and 4 all together? A. 13.85 minutesB. 7.64 minutesC. 9.85 minutesD. 1.385 minutesThe question above is an example of a Readiness Standard (70% of questions on STAAR assessment). 5.3A-use addition and subtraction to solve questions involving whole numbers and decimals.You can tell that a student will not only have to know how to add and subtract but will also need to know how many seconds are in a minute to answer the question correctly. Did you answer the questions correctly? Example 1 is “C” Example 2 is “A”There will also be more open-ended or grid questions on STAAR assessments. Every item on a CSCOPE assessment is labeled with the appropriate Student Expectation and if it is a Readiness or Supporting Standard. Every CSCOPE test item is communicated through the IFD (Instructional Focus Document—lesson planning guide)which the teacher uses to guide and organize lesson planning. After teachers give the students the assessment, the data can be loaded to show exactly which Student Expectations (Readiness or Supporting) the student might not understand. This is a good way to see not only if the student is struggling, but also to see if the curriculum needs to be strengthened in an area. Parents, teachers realize it is difficult to not be able to help your student if they don’t bring home a textbook. Teachers are actively looking at ways to help include you, the parent, in the process. This might involve certain activities being sent home with clear directions, or some homework problems being sent home for practice out of the textbook or other resource. Our aim is for your student to be successful and Ace the STAAR! If you have any questions, please contact Michael Bohensky (325) 372-3771.One six-weeks down! Even though high school students will have to wait a couple more weeks before they receive report cards, the first six-weeks of school has been completed. Even in the midst of all the other activities, six-weeks of instruction is history! Parents, hopefully you have seen an example of a CSCOPE test in each of the core subjects: ELA, math, science, and social studies. We appreciate the great turn out at Open House on September 26th! Open house was a good opportunity to receive information from teachers about the CSCOPE assessments. Teachers have the same anxiety about the CSCOPE assessments. They are difficult, but they are helping to prepare for the rigor of the STAAR test, our new state assessment that all students will be responsible for taking in the spring of 2012 (Grades 3-8). 9th graders will take End of Course Exams under the STAAR assessment system. 10th and 11th graders are responsible for TAKS. Parents, you are able to see what the state standards are for each subject by logging on to the TEA website http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ and clicking “Curriculum” link. One thing that will be different for students taking the STAAR assessment is the rigor of the test. Most of us have taken tests, and we recognize that most tests have a mix of easy and difficult questions. On the TAKS test, a large percentage of the test items were easy or medium difficulty. There were a few really difficult questions, but the percentage was low. The state standards for each core subject (English, math, science, and social studies) are written to a rigorous level; however, TAKS really tested students at a lower level than the TEKS (state standards) were written. The new STAAR exam will do a better job matching the rigor of the state standards. These TEKS (Texas standards) have been categorized as having Readiness Standards, Supporting Standards, and Processing Standards in grades that have state assessments. Grades below 3rd grade have Foundational Standards. School districts are being told that the new STAAR exam will consist of 65% Readiness Standard type questions (the hard ones!) and 35% of Supporting Standards (the easy to medium ones). Time is our enemy when preparing students to tackle this new assessment. It will not consist of items that can be memorized. They must be learned. For example, look at the following two 5th grade math questions. One contains a Readiness Standard and one contains a Supporting Standard. These questions are examples taken from CSCOPE Unit Assessments. 5th Grade MathEXAMPLE 1: The largest island in the world is Greenland, with an area of 2,175,600 square miles. In this number, in what place is the digit 7? A. millionsB. hundred thousandsC. ten thousandsD. thousands The question above is an example of a Supporting Standard (30% of questions on STAAR assessment). 5.1A-use place value to read, write, compare, and order whole numbers through the 999,999,999,999: EXAMPLE 2: Tracks 1, 2, 3, and 4 of a certain compact disk had songs with lengths of 3.14 minutes, 4.21, 4 minutes, and 2.5 minutes. How many minutes of music were on tracks 1, 2, 3, and 4 all together? A. 13.85 minutesB. 7.64 minutesC. 9.85 minutesD. 1.385 minutesThe question above is an example of a Readiness Standard (70% of questions on STAAR assessment). 5.3A-use addition and subtraction to solve questions involving whole numbers and decimals.You can tell that a student will not only have to know how to add and subtract but will also need to know how many seconds are in a minute to answer the question correctly. Did you answer the questions correctly? Example 1 is “C” Example 2 is “A”There will also be more open-ended or grid questions on STAAR assessments. Every item on a CSCOPE assessment is labeled with the appropriate Student Expectation and if it is a Readiness or Supporting Standard. Every CSCOPE test item is communicated through the IFD (Instructional Focus Document—lesson planning guide)which the teacher uses to guide and organize lesson planning. After teachers give the students the assessment, the data can be loaded to show exactly which Student Expectations (Readiness or Supporting) the student might not understand. This is a good way to see not only if the student is struggling, but also to see if the curriculum needs to be strengthened in an area. Parents, teachers realize it is difficult to not be able to help your student if they don’t bring home a textbook. Teachers are actively looking at ways to help include you, the parent, in the process. This might involve certain activities being sent home with clear directions, or some homework problems being sent home for practice out of the textbook or other resource. Our aim is for your student to be successful and Ace the STAAR! If you have any questions, please contact Michael Bohensky (325) 372-3771.