Dear Parents: The winter testing season has begun and this is a reminder that the following two tests will be given to your child during the months of January and February.

Optional Local Purpose Assessment (OLPA) - Mathematics

OLPA is available for students in grades 4-8. It provides a risk-free environment for students to familiarize themselves with online testing and provides teachers with information to target instruction before the mathematics test used for accountability in the spring. Every time a student answers a question, her or his response helps to determine the next question that the student must answer. This testing method provides a more precise measure of students' skills and knowledge.

English Language Proficiency Assessments

Starting in the spring of 2012, tests developed by the WIDA consortium will replace the TEAE and the MN SOLOM in fulfilling the Title III requirement for assessing English language proficiency. ACCESS for ELLs test items are written from the model performance indicators of WIDA's five English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards: Social & Instructional Language, Language of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies and test forms are divided into five grade level clusters (testing grades 1-12).

Note: at the upper campus the OLPA test will be given to all 4th – 8th graders. It is a practice MCA test for math only. This test is in place of the MAP testing that we have done in the past. The OLPA test will allow the students to see how the MCA test will look and how to navigate through the test on the computer. The ACCESS test will only be given to our EL students. This test is for students whose first language is not English and it measures a student’s English proficiency.