LP2 Testing Tips

MATH

Often we see that a student fully understands a concept when given a math equation. They are able to solve the problem by following the steps they have learned in their lessons.

The biggest struggle we see is that many WORD PROBLEMS in Math have vocabulary that is not familiar. Using Academic Vocabulary in your everyday lessons is vital to support your child's understanding about different concepts. Identifying key words in a math word problem is a great tool for success! Using different colors or identifiers to find the important numbers, the clue words, and what the question is actually asking is a quick, easy way to support your child's understanding about the question.

Here is a helpful Math Vocabulary List that corresponds with words your child may see on the CAASPP. It is broken down by grade level, but reach out to your HST to further see how a child in the grade will see/use the specific word. For example, the word AREA in 3rd grade will likely have to do with quadrilaterals (rectangle/square). In 6th grade, they may be using AREA to describe a triangle, or another shape that may need to utilize a formula.

English

Like Math, there is some language that educators and test-makers use when asking questions. Many times our students understand how to solve a problem, but the question is asked in a way that uses new language. This makes it harder for the students to decipher what the question is asking.

Here is a helpful English Vocabulary List that corresponds with words your child may see on the Language Arts portion of the CAASPP. Like math, there may be varying degrees a word may be used. For instance, in 3rd grade, your child may see, "provide evidence to support your opinion." In 7th grade, they will be asked to, "cite sources to justify your response." These two things have similar meanings, but the 7th grade language is a little more complex, and could be confusing if they have not seen it written that way before.

We are thrilled to introduce Exact Path, a powerful academic learning platform. Designed to enhance the learning journey of our Kindergarten to 12th-grade students, it has already proven its worth with many students having a rewarding experience over the summer.

Here is a sneak peek video. We are excited to put our students on the Path!

Exact Path is not just another learning platform. It's a personalized guide that takes your student's latest STAR 360 scores and crafts a unique learning path based on their specific needs. Whether it's mastering new skills or honing existing ones, Exact Path is there every step of the way.

Once learning skill gaps are identified, students can fill them by completing a three-part learning experience. Each skill has a lesson, practice, and a five-question progress check. If students master the skill successfully, they will earn a trophy. Skills are mastered on the progress check by achieving 80% or higher.

But that's not all. We're also launching the PCA Exact Path Challenge to fuel your academic journey. This exciting initiative is designed to inspire and reward your progress along your learning path.

The challenge will begin on September 1, 2024, and end on December 1, 2024. During the 12-week school window, students will be challenged to earn 24 trophies, including eight in the three subject areas of Math, Reading, and Language Arts—$ 200 in educational planning amount to students who complete the challenge.

Writing in Math

Writing has consistently been a struggle for our students. Taking what a student is thinking, and putting it on paper is a hard skill. This has shown especially true for math!

One of the goals of Pacific Coast Academy this year, is to focus on improving math achievement scores. One way we can support that goal, and support our students, is to continue to focus on writing in math.

When an evaluator looks at a math problem that was completed by a student, they don't know HOW the student came to that answer, unless the student has communicated it in some way. Writing in math is a way for the student to communicate their thought process as they solved the problem. Even if the answer is incorrect, the evaluator will be able to see what strategy the student used to solve the question. Writing in Math is a great chance to practice step-by-step, or how-tos, as well.

The first step, is to have your child EXPLAIN, verbally, how they solved their answer. Notice, did they forget any steps? Did they actually see that they did something incorrect, and go back and fix it? Ask questions like, "where did you find your numbers?" and "how did you know this was a _____(addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, etc.) problem?" These kinds of questions will help your child know what to add in their response when they start writing in math.

Writing Resources

Writing is hard to teach! As a teacher, I'm always wondering what should I be looking at? The whole entire writing response, the language/grammar, the prompt, the evidence provided, the content, etc? All of these parts work together, and teachers have to make the decision about what to focus on.

Following a Writer's Workshop process is a good way to work through your child's writing together.

At PCA, we have a number of great writing resources to support Learning Coaches and their students. If you ever need support with the writing process, or any of the steps in a Writer's Workshop, your HST is a great place to start!

South Schools Writing Tools

South Schools Writing Support Videos - All Levels

3-12 South Schools Writing Videos

South School CAASPP Writing Videos

South Schools Writing Challenges

SMART Annotated Response Tool - CAASPP Scoring Examples

WER scores are One of the data points we are able to get from CAASPP is your child's score on their Performance Task. HSTs are going to be trained on how to read these and support your child in writing. The three elements the state looks for are:

Purpose - 4 points

Evidence - 4 points

Conventions (grammar/punctuation/etc.) - 2 points

Using the SMART Annotated Response Tool, you can see different exemplars that show student responses that have similar scores as your child. This can help guide your writing instruction, and know what to work on.

If you have any questions on WER scores, please reach out to your HST.

CAASPP Practice Portal - Get a jump on seeing what the different state tests will look like in the spring! This is a great way to see how the interface is laid out, what tools are available, and the kind of language that is used!