Tag: assessments

Family-School Partnership Standard #3: Supporting Student Success

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

By Heather Ippolito, VP Family Engagement

As we continue our series about the  PTA National Family-School Partnership Standards  we want to remind you that we have several blog posts around this topic: 

The third standard of supporting student success encourages families and school staff to continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and to have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.  Here are some ideas of ways to bring this standard to life on your campus:

  • Help parents understand what their child needs to succeed in school by holding grade-level meetings to cover the state standards, assessments, and expectations at the beginning of the year.  
  • Testing data can be confusing to families.  Parents should be given resources to fully understand their child’s assessment reports and the school should also share full-school data with families.  This could be done at a coffee with the principal, a parent night event, or at a PTA/PTSA Meeting.
  • Parent conferences or goal-setting meetings are a great way for families and school personnel to connect, but these should be two-way conversations– not just an opportunity for the teacher to do all the talking.  Parents should be encouraged to share their hopes and goals for their child and to convey their families’ cultural experiences that may influence how their child learns. 
  • Families should be encouraged and welcome to participate in classroom and on-campus activities (when it is safe to do so).  The PTA can help facilitate this by making sure families are aware of the volunteer opportunities and any of the requirements necessary to participate (district training, fingerprinting, etc.).
  • Parents also need to understand how they can support learning at home.  Teachers can be a huge help with this by sharing ideas with families including visiting museums, seeing movies or concerts, or other opportunities for learning outside of the classroom walls.  The PTA can also support this by bringing educational experiences onto the campus to help ensure that every family can participate.
  • After-school or summer learning can also be beneficial to students.  PTA can help facilitate classes or other educational experiences to make learning fun for the kids and keep the learning happening outside of the traditional school day. 
  • California State PTA has an online Resource Library to help parents find resources to continue learning at home.  You can search by keyword, grade level, school subject, or type of resource (video, website, PDF, etc.). 

Do you have a great suggestion for supporting student success?  Please share it with us and you may be featured on our social media.

Test Scores Can Help Jump Start the Learning Process

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Register Now!

California State PTA Presents:
A Zoom presentation by Educational Testing Service and Metametrics
September 2, 2021 – 4-5pm

 

We often think of test scores as the ending point of a student’s learning, a “final score.” But test results can actually be the start of learning. In this presentation you’ll learn how to use the results of state testing to find just the right tools for continuing your child’s progress in reading and math. 

Register here and attend on September 2 from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

During the presentation, which will be facilitated by California State PTA President Carol Green, experts from ETS and Metametrics will explain the Lexile and Quantile Framework. If you look at the 2021 Student Score Report, based on tests most students took at the end of last school year, you’ll see Lexile and Quantile measures. (You’ll find them on page 5 of this sample Student Score Report.)

You can use your child’s Lexile and Quantile measures to find their reading and math levels. The California Department of Education has arranged for all parents to have access to a set of free family-friendly tools, including Find-A-Book and Math@Home, that enable you to match learning resources and activities to your child’s learning levels in both reading and math. 

These two parent guides will give you the basics.

Lexile: https://lexile.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Lexile-Parent-Guide.pdf

Quantile: https://www.quantiles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Quantile-Parent-Guide-1.pdf

 

But even better, register for and attend our September 2 presentation.   

ETS Update: Spring Assessments

Posted on by CAPTA IT

This article was provided by our sponsor ETS. Read more about ETS here.

State tests are underway and like this school year when learning is  different—whether your child is in a school, learning at home, or both—the tests are also different.

We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic that prompted sudden school closures has created a very challenging learning environment not only for students, but also for parents and teachers. We applaud the hard work, sacrifices and efforts made by families and teachers to help ensure that students continue to learn and progress in their academic career. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 closures have caused learning gaps, which is why it is more important than ever to measure student learning to understand the impact the pandemic and the different learning environments have had on students.

This year, districts have the option to give the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) either remotely or in person. The English language arts and mathematics test are shorter than in previous years to decrease stress on students and time it takes away from valuable instruction. School districts will also have more time to administer the assessments. The results of the tests are going to be used for learning only. They will not be used to rate schools but to help identify where leaning loss has occurred and provide the state, teachers, and parents with this very important data to help make decisions on how to best help student catch up.

All the test subjects, in addition to ELA and math, administered under CAASPP are available this year as well as the tests administered to English learners. Most of these tests are available remotely or in person. However, if your child qualifies for the alternate assessments, these tests will need to be given in person because these tests require one-on-one administration with students so they can better demonstrate what they know and can do.

Below is a list of available tests, who takes them, how they are administered, and timeline. Check with your child’s teacher for more information about your child’s testing schedule and which tests they need to take. Parents can also visit the CAASPP/ELPAC website for more information, including instructions and videos on how to prepare for testing at home and practice tests.

Smarter Balanced English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics (shortened version)

Results for this test will only be used to get information on how to help students.

  • Who takes the test: All students from grades 3-8 and 11 except students participating in the California Alternate Assessments (CAAs) for ELA and mathematics and ELA only for English learners in U.S. schools less than 12 months.
  • How it’s administered: In-person or remote, depending on school district.
  • Testing period: February – July
  • When parents can expect their child’s score report: July 2021

California Alternate Assessments (CAA) in English language arts and mathematics

Results for this test will only be used to get information on how to help students.

  • Who takes the test: Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities whose active individualized education program (IEP) designates the use of an alternate assessment
  • How it’s administered: In-person only
  • Testing period: January – July
  • When parents can expect their child’s score report: September 2021

California Science Test (CAST)

Results for this test will only be used to get information on how to help students.

  • Who takes the test: All students in grades 5 and 8, and once anytime in high school, except eligible students participating in the CAA for Science
  • How it’s administered: In-person or remote, depending on school district
  • Testing period: January – July
  • When parents can expect their child’s score report: July 2021

California Alternate Assessments in Science

Results for this test will only be used to get information on how to help students.

  • Who takes the test: Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities whose active IEP designates the use of an alternate assessment, for grades 5 and 8, and once anytime in high school
  • How it’s administered: In-person only
  • Testing period: September – July
  • When parents can expect their child’s score report: TBD

English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) (Initial and Summative)

Results of this test are used to identify English learners and to reclassify EL status

Initial ELPAC Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing

  • Who takes the test: K-12 students whose primary language is not English as indicated on the Home Language Survey; administered within 30 calendar days of enrollment
  • How it’s administered: In-person or remote
  • Testing period: All year
  • When parents can expect their child’s score report: As soon as the student takes the test

*Summative ELPAC Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing

  • Who takes the test: K-12 students who have been identified as English learners and participate annually until reclassified fluent English proficient
  • How it’s administered: In-person or remote
  • Testing period: February – July
  • When parents can expect their child’s score report: June 2021

 *Students who took a locally administered alternate assessment of English proficiency will continue to receive a Summative ELPAC student score report.

California Spanish Assessment

This is an optional test for native English-speaking students who want to demonstrate proficiency in Spanish language.

  • Who takes the test: All students in grades 3-8 and high school who want to demonstrate Spanish reading and language arts
  • How it’s administered: In-person or remote
  • Testing period: January – July

When parents can expect their child’s score report: September 2021

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