The Start of Another Season
We are about to begin a new season. And I’m not talking about baseball or the Red Sox, although they are about to begin as well. This season, though, is not as well-known as fall, winter, or spring, but in this new age of education it is even more important and for us it is building upon the one we did for the "first" time last year for the Next Generation MCAS (2.0) season is upon us.
Every student at the Nichols Middle School will be starting and completing the English Language Arts (ELA) and then Math administration of what they started calling the Next Generation MCAS in the next couple of months. Our 8th Grade students will also be completing the Science Technology and Engineering MCAS on their tablets for the first time this year.
We have to keep in the forefront of our minds that these tests are important. The reason for this is simple. I know it. The teachers here at NMS know it. Hopefully, the students understand it and do their best, which is all we ask; and I am also hoping that parents are echoing these same sentiments at home.
This is our second time into the newer version of the MCAS online for everyone across the Commonwealth as well as us here at NMS. We, at NMS, feel very positively about doing this. We know our students have a very solid background in online testing as they have been working with Digits, our online math program, which is also developed by Pearson, the makers of the PARCC tests and also the new MCAS. Also, every student at NMS will go through the new online tutorials and practice tests on how to take the test online with Ms. Falconer in their Tech classes.
So on Tuesday, April 3, our 7th Grade Students will begin their first session of the ELA sections. Here is the complete calendar of the testing administration for NMS:
Next Generation MCAS Schedule for NMS:
ELA
Tuesday, April 3 & Wednesday, April 4: 7th Grade
Thursday, April 5 & Friday, April 6: 6th GradeWednesday, April 25 & Thursday, April 26: 8th Grade
Math
Thursday, May 17 & Friday, May 18: 8th Grade
Tuesday, May 22 & Wednesday, May 23: 7th Grade
Science Technology & Engineering -- 8th Grade
MCAS Testing Schedule for Each Grade:
6th Grade:
· Thursday, April 5: Grade 6 ELA Session 1
· Friday, April 6: Grade 6 ELA Session 2
· Tuesday, May 15: Grade 6 Math Session 1
· Wednesday, May 16: Grade 6 Math Session 2
7th Grade:
· Tuesday, April 3: Grade 7 ELA Session 1
· Wednesday, April 4: Grade 7 ELA Session 2
· Tuesday, May 22: Grade 7 Math Session 1
· Wednesday, May 23: Grade 7 Math Session 2
8th Grade:
· Wednesday, April 25: Grade 8 ELA Session 1
· Thursday, April 26: Grade 8 ELA Session 2
· Thursday, May 17: Grade 8 Math Session 1
· Friday, May 18: Grade 8 Math Session 2
· Tuesday, May 22: Grade 8 STE Session 1
· Wednesday, May 23: Grade 8 STE Session 2
These tests sometimes bring anxiety, fear, anticipation, grief, resentment, and/or relief. With everyone’s differing feelings on standardized assessments, though, one thing is for sure, they are here and we must deal with them for the best of our students. Students at NMS have been preparing all year every day in their classes for these assessments, but we all must make sure we are doing everything we can in order to make sure each and every student is ready.
I will be having meetings with each grade level to discuss the importance of the tests, better test-taking skills, and some overall strategies to help them do better and relax. Our teachers are preparing students with skills they need to succeed each and every day either through teaching to the standards, extra test prep during DIAL periods, reading and writing throughout our curricula, or working with our online math program Digits.
So what, may you ask, can parents do? Well, I am glad you asked. The following is from the Guide to the MCAS for Parents/Guardians put out by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to help with the support:
What Can I Do to Help My Child?
Supporting your child is critical now and in his or her future academic career. Here are some tips for helping your child prepare for the next MCAS test administration.
Have regular discussions with your child’s teachers to see what you can do at home to support your child’s work in school.
· Make sure your child gets enough rest, eats properly, and arrives at school on time every day. Send your child to school prepared to learn.
· Discuss with your child subjects that need improvement and whether he or she thinks there has been improvement. If the answer is no, find out why.
· Ask your child about homework that is due tomorrow and next week, and make sure this homework is completed. Check your child's agenda nightly.
· Ask your child to explain what he or she is studying. These conversations help you follow your child’s progress, and help your child to remember what he or she has learned.
· Help your child practice MCAS test questions, and review the tests together so you will all become familiar with the expectations. Have them show you what the tests look like and try to answer the questions with him or her.
Here is also a link to a MCAS Resource Center with many helpful resources.
Test Practice Tests are online at MCAS Student Tutorial & Practice Tests where our students have visited with their teachers, but you can go there with them as well.
Our teachers have been utilizing this more and more each day as we get closer to the testing administration to get used to the styles of questions as well as to be more familiar with the material. We are getting there; each and every day we are getting closer to doing better as a school.
The MCAS is important. Yes, it is, but we all know that we each have a part to play in the success of each child. At NMS, we all believe each and every student can be successful at the MCAS or any standardized test and, for that matter, every other subject in school as well. We are all going to work together as diligently as we can to make sure all of our students do succeed. If we all keep this in mind and work together, there is no way we won’t succeed. So, let it be the season of MCAS for it will be just another season of success for all of us at NMS.
