The MPS winter testing window will be Jan. 3 – 25.  Lower Campus students will take the FAST assessment in reading and math and it will take about 20 minutes to complete each test.  Upper Campus will take the MAP assessment and it will take about 50 minutes to complete each test.  These tests give teachers a snapshot of your child’s instructional level and measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of math and reading.  At the end of the testing window, we will provide academic growth data for your student. 

We understand that January is a busy month and we want to do our best to ease test anxiety.  Here are some helpful tips to support your student(s):
Make sure your student has a healthy breakfast at home or picks up school breakfast on testing day
Remind students that these tests are not graded or a competition and any scores are used to help teachers to make decisions and improve instruction.
Talk to your student about doing his/her best
Pick and practice a calming strategy – this might include deep breathing,  counting backwards to 10, or visualizing a favorite place or person
If you would like your student to opt-out of testing this winter (and you didn’t fill out a form this fall), please pick up a 2016-2017 Parent Assessment Refusal form in the office at either campus. 

Please contact Ashley Gillingham, Assistant Principal, with any questions or concerns.