State and End-of-Course Testing

While testing is one measure of your child's understanding of the content, it is one with effects that are important to note.

There has been some confusion and misinformation surrounding testing, so SPMS has put together a helpful guide with essential information. Please read through it thoroughly.

Thank you for your support!

State testing dates have been announced (see below). Students will be told of their testing room by their 1st period teacher. Testing begins promptly at 7:30. Please encourage your child to do their best, bring testing materials (pencil, calculator, wired earbuds for students with oral presentation accommodation), and eat a healthy breakfast. Be sure to save the date!

The School Grade is based on PM 3 and EOC scores. Report card grades do not factor in at all. Last year, SPMS was an "A" school. We would like to continue this by encouraging all students to prepare and do their best on the statewide FAST and EOC assessments.

The test is adaptive so guessing and skipping through actually lowers the level of the test, which impacts a student's final score.

The FAST ELA and Math PM 3 assessments are high-stakes, meaning they determine course placement for the next year and count toward school grades.

- All students with Level 1s and some students with Level 2s will be placed in Intensive Reading and/or Intensive Math next year as per district and state guidelines.

- High school students placed in Intensive Reading will not be moved out until they pass the graduation requirements for ELA (it is not a yearly decision).

- Students will be placed in ELA courses (standard, advanced, etc.) using state scores.

- Students will be placed in Math courses using state test scores (without teacher input). Historical data for tests and the current year's test are both utilized. Students must accelerate in Math to also accelerate in Science--we offer through high school geometry and biology at SPMS.

- High school placement in ELA and Math impact one's GPA.

Here is the PowerPoint that will be shared with students:

Here are the parent documents and expectation guides:

This is an adaptive test.

- Students need stamina to read 5-8 passages independently.

- All questions are application questions aligned to the standards.

- When each passage set is submitted, it generates a new lower or higher set of questions, impacting the student's final score.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- Encourage your children to use their scrap paper to annotate the texts. This is CRITICAL to their ability to actively read and understand the text. It helps them stay focused.

- Students need to be able to apply all their skills from the year's worth of math standards in a spiral review format. All standards are mixed up and presented in a random order.

- Students can use their grade-level caclulators and reference sheets on all sections of the test.

- The student's level is recalculated after every question, so it is important that they submit their best answer before moving on.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- Your child needs to bring his/her own approved calculator or use the embedded digital calculator. The school is not permitted to provide these.

- Have your child practice within the testing platform link. They can practice with the online calculator, the reference sheet, and all the question types.

- The Civics EOC is part of the student's grade. It is worth 30% of their final grade.

- Passing Civics is a graduation requirement.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- Every Civics Schoology course has practice tests posted. Students should complete these often, retaking them and studying information based on their results.

- The Science State Assessment comprises all the science standards from 6th-8th grade in a random order.

- Students must have the stamina to read scenarios, charts, and graphs. Many questions are application-based.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- These Blookets target each strand of the SSA and have banks of hundreds of questions each, so your child would benefit from doing each Blooket several times (a random assortment of questions are provided in each game).

Life Science SSA Factory || Life Science SSA Monster Brawl

Physical Science SSA Factory || Physical Science SSA Crazy Kingdom

Earth/Space Science SSA Factory || Earth/Space SSA Tower of Doom

- Your child needs to bring his/her own four-function calculator or use the embedded digital calculator. The school is not permitted to provide these.

- This assessment covers all the biology standards and is 30% of the student's grade.

- This counts toward the student's high school GPA.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- Your child needs to bring his/her own approved calculator or use the embedded digital calculator. The school is not permitted to provide these.

- This assessment covers all the geometry standards and is 30% of the student's grade.

- This counts toward the student's high school GPA.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- Your child needs to bring his/her own approved calculator or use the embedded digital calculator. The school is not permitted to provide these.

- Have your child practice within the testing platform link. They can practice with the online calculator, the reference sheet, and all the question types.

- This assessment covers all the algebra standards and is 30% of the student's grade.

- This counts toward the student's high school GPA.

How to Prepare Your Child:

- Your child needs to bring his/her own approved calculator or use the embedded digital calculator. The school is not permitted to provide these.

- Have your child practice within the testing platform link. They can practice with the online calculator, the reference sheet, and all the question types.