Sand Pine Spotlight

Keeping our Crane families in the know!

2020-2021 School Year, Volume 7

March 14, 2021

Hello Cranes!

Welcome to Volume 7 of the Sand Pine Spotlight. Please continue to look for more newsletters like these to keep you updated with the latest and greatest information regarding the 2020-21 school year.

April and May are the months when our students will be taking state and district assessments. This newsletter will be dedicated to information about these assessments. All of these assessments are required by either the state or district. It will be a busy few months, but we know that our Cranes are up to the task! Please feel free to reach out if you have questions or concerns.

SPES CRANES ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD!

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Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) Information

All third, fourth, and fifth grade students will take FSA tests during April and May. These assessments are paper-based. Parent letters went home with traditional students on Friday, March 12, and MSOL families should have received their letter electronically from the teacher on the same day. Please be sure to read these letters carefully!

Here is a breakdown of the assessments the students will take:

3rd grade - reading and math
4th grade - writing, reading, and math
5th grade - writing, reading, math, and science

All sessions of each assessment are 80 minutes, except for the writing test which is 120 minutes. Here is a link to a fact sheet: 2020–2021 Florida Statewide Grade-Level Assessments Fact Sheet

Students will take practice tests with their teacher before taking assessments. Here is a link to those resources: http://www.FSAssessments.org/students-and-families/practice-tests/paper-based-practice-test-materials/

Per the Florida Department of Education, no remote administrations are available for any statewide summative assessment. This means that MSOL students must come to the school building to test. Specific directions regarding MSOL test administration is included in the parent letter distributed on March 12. We will continue to practice social distancing and increased safety and cleaning protocols during this time.

Please see the the FSA schedule below for the dates of testing. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Mrs. Grimsley by calling (813) 794-1900 or via email at lgrimsle@pasco.k12.fl.us. She will be happy to help you!

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NWEA MAP Spring Administration

During the window of April 12-23, all students K-5 will participate in the final MAP test administration. This assessment is used to show student growth and achievement throughout the school year. MAP tests are computer-based and can be administered remotely. There will be no changes in how we have given this test throughout the school year. MSOL teachers will be in touch with families regarding the dates and times for the tests.

Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade students will take reading and math tests. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students take reading, math, and science tests.

Please remember that this test is nationally normed and designed to find each student's strengths and instructional needs. Some test items will challenge your child and expose them to content above their grade level in order to find their true instructional level. It's ok for your child to productively struggle with these items! Just encourage them to do their best! We are so proud of our Cranes' growth throughout the year, and SPES ranks amongst the highest in the district in achievement level. Go Cranes!

Family toolkit: https://www.nwea.org/the-map-suite/family-toolkit/

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District Finals

District Finals will be administered between Monday, May 10 and Friday, May 21 for all students K-5. Here is the final for each grade level:

Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades - reading
3rd grade - PE
4th grade - art
5th grade - music

Please see the fact sheet below for more information about District Finals. For traditional students, all finals are paper-based except for music which is computer-based. MSOL students will take their finals remotely on the computer, monitored by their teacher/specials teacher. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Grimsley.