Welcome to the TAYLOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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Welcome to theTAYLOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

• Introduction to MCAS

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MassachusettsComprehensiveAssessmentSystem

• MCAS

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Why does my child need to take the MCAS?

• The law requires all public school students in
  Massachusetts to take part in the MCAS
• MCAS measures performance based on Massachusetts
  Curriculum Frameworks Learning Standards
• MCAS provides a measure of accountability for
  students, schools, and districts
• In grade 10, students must pass English Language
  Arts and Math (Class of 2010 must pass Science
  and Technology/Engineering, Class of 2012 must
  pass US History)
• ELL students

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Questions to be answered today

• What is MCAS?
• When was MCAS?
• What tests did my child take part in?
• How many sessions of testing did my child
  participate in?
• How many questions did my child answer?
• What type of questions was my child asked?
• What do I do with the information I received?
• What does the school do with the information from
  MCAS?
• How can I support my child for future MCAS?
• Where can I find additional information?

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What is MCAS?

• MCAS an assessment designed to meet requirements
  of Educational Reform Law of 1993
• All tests are un-timed
• Grade 3 MCAS Reading and Math
• Grade 4 MCAS Composition, Reading, and Math
• Composition-rough draft and final copy
• Reading-3 sessions over a two week period
• Practice is a one paragraph story with 3
  questions
• Read selection and answer multiple choice and
  open response questions
• Multiple choice-1 point each
• Open Response based on each questions (see
  fraction)

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What is MCAS?

• Math-2 sessions over a two week period.
• Practice is multiple choice and short answer
• The test is assesses
• Number Sense and Operations
• Patterns, Relationships ,and Algebra
• Geometry
• Measurement
• Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability
• The test has multiple choice, short answer, and
  open response questions
• Multiple choice-1 point each
• Short answer-1 point each (refer to each question
  for scoring guide)
• Open Response- based on each question (refer to
  each question for scoring guide)

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When was MCAS?

• Grade 3 MCAS
• -Reading end of March/beginning of April
• -Math middle of May
• Grade 4 MCAS
• -Long Composition March 25
• -Reading end of March/beginning of April
• -Math middle of May

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How many questions did my child answer?

• Reading
• selection followed by multiple choice questions
  and open response questions
• Last year children responded to 60 questions
  only 42 were scored questions
• MATH
• Arrangement of word problems, tables, graphs,
  number sentences with higher order math skills
  embedded
• There were only 3 computation problems
• Last year children responded to 50 questions
  only 35 were scored questions

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What type of questions was my child asked?

• The release questions from past tests are
  available through
• The Department of education website (for all
  grades dating back to 2003)
• http//www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html

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Childrens author Joanna Cole is best known for
her Magic School Bus books. Read this selection
about her and then answer the questions that
follow. Joanna Cole by Deborah Kovacs and James
Preller

• BornAugust 11, 1944, in Newark, New Jersey
• Home Sandy Hook, Connecticut
• W hats Joanna Cole interested in? Well, just
  about everything. And when Joanna Cole is
  interested in something, she usually writes a
  book about it. Shes written about fleas,
  cockroaches, dinosaurs, chicks, fish,
  saber-toothed tigers, frogs, horses, snakes,
  cars, puppies, insects, and (whew!) babies.
• I was never one of those wonderful students who
  gets straight As and everything right on the
  tests, says Joanna Cole. But Ive always been
  obsessed with logical thinking. I used to argue
  with my teachers when things didnt make sense to
  me.
• Joanna grew up in East Orange, New Jersey. Her
  interest in science grew from her natural
  curiosity about the world in which she lived. We
  had a small backyard, and I was the gardener in
  the family. I spent a lot of time planting
  flowers, daydreaming, watching ants, and catching
  bugs.

• IT BEGAN WITHCOCKROACHES
• All writers must begin somewhere, and Joanna Cole
  began her career by writing about cockroaches.
  Joanna was working as a library-teacher in a
  Brooklyn elementary school when her father gave
  her an article. Joanna remembers, It was about
  cockroaches and how they were here before the
  dinosaurs. It got me thinking about all those
  science books Id read as a kidinsects had been
  a special interest of mineand it occurred to me
  that there wasnt one about cockroaches.
• As a nonfiction writer, Joanna does a lot of
  research before she writes a single word. The
  impossible dream is to know everything, she
  says. When you are writing the book, you must
  select what you want to go into the book. What
  always happens is that more things are left out
  than can go in.
• I have a question that I ask myself as I write
  Why does the reader want to turn the page? I
  never feel that kids are going to turn the page
  just because its there to turn. There has to be
  a question thats in a readers mindand he or
  she turns the page to find the answers.

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• its fun to be a writer. That question always
  leaves me a little speechless. Because the answer
  is, of course, yes and no. When its going well,
  theres nothing more exhilarating. But its so
  much work!
• Joanna has been praised by both teachers and
  children for being able to make science
  interesting and understandable. And now, with the
  Magic School Bus series, shes done the
  impossibleshes made science funny.
• Before I started writing the first Magic School
  Bus book, I had a lot of lofty goalsand I had no
  idea whether they could be achieved. I wanted it
  to be a very good science book. I also wanted it
  to be a good story, a story you might read even
  without the science. And I wanted it to be
  genuinely funny. Well this was terrifying to me.
  I couldnt work at all. I cleaned out closets,
  answered letters, went shoppinganything but sit
  down and write. But eventually I did it, even
  though I was scared.
• The Magic School Bus books were a huge success.
  Readers across the country loved them. They
  especially loved the wacky science teacher, Ms.
  Frizzle. We were concerned that teachers might
  be offended by Ms. Frizzle, with her crazy
  clothes.

• But whats happened is that teachers love her.
  Whenever Bruce Degen, the illustrator, and I go
  to schools, theres almost always somebody
  dressed as Ms. Frizzle. The teachers are even
  asking for Ms. Frizzle outfits.
• In addition to her many science books, Joanna
  Cole has written over twenty books of fiction
  including Dont Tell the Whole World, The
  Clown-Arounds, Bony-Legs, Doctor Change, Monster
  Manners, and The Missing Tooth.
• Joanna Cole finds pleasure and excitement in each
  new project she takes on. When I was starting to
  write The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body,
  I didnt know whose body the bus would travel in.
  Then I thought of the idea that Ms. Frizzle and
  her class would go into Arnolds body, and that
  he would eat them as Cheesie Wheesies. That was
  one of the happiest moments of my life. I was
  walking on clouds all day.

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Mark your choices for multiple-choice questions
13 through 20 by filling in the circle next to
the best answer.
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What type of information will I receive after the
test?

• With your childs results you will receive a
  guide to reading the report (green pamphlet) as
  well as a legend on the Parent/Guardian Report.
• The Parent/Guardian Report will show how well
  your third grade child performed in Reading and
  Math compared to the average performance of third
  grade students at the Taylor School, the town of
  Foxborough and the state overall.
• The Parent/Guardian Report will show range of
  scores (performance level) and the test item
  scores for your child.

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How can I support my child for MCAS?

• Keep stress level down.
• Make sure your child has a good nights rest,
  eats properly, and gets to school on time every
  day.
• Emphasize MCAS has no impact on your childs
  report card, grades, or promotion and encourage
  your child to do their best.
• Communicate with your childs teacher regularly
  to see how the family can support your childs
  learning at school.

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How can I support my child for MCAS?

• Ask your child about the homework that is due
  tomorrow and next week, and make sure it gets
  done. Send your child to school prepared to
  learn.
• Ask your child to explain to you what he or she
  is studying. These conversations help you to
  follow your childs progress, and help him or her
  to remember what has been learned.
• Encourage your child to use Study Island at home.
• Username is their student number_at_taylor
• password is last name in all capitals

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Where can I find additional information?

• The Taylor School Website
• http//foxborough.k12.ma.us/fpsweb/TAY/TAYindex.h
  tml
• The Department of Education www.doe.mass.edu
• all test items from past MCAS tests are available
  at http//www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/testitems.html