New York State Tests:
Twenty years ago students could choose two different options when working towards their high school diploma - Regents or Non-regents. This is no longer the case. In order to graduate from high school, students must pass state mandated exams. The state exams mandated in grades 3-8 tell us if your child is on track to pass the Regents Exams. They also tell how well districts, schools, administrators, teachers and parents are doing to prepare students for graduation and higher education. Now that New York State has adopted a new curriculum and released the new "Modules" to help instruct students in the type of methodologies that they feel best prepares students, the tests will also assess their success.
Exam Schedules:
E.L.A.: Tuesday, April 2nd – Thursday, April 4th
Math: Wednesday, May 1st – Friday, May 3rd
D.R.A. & Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessments
The Developmental Reading Assessment is a tool that gives the teacher information about how well your child is reading at the given point in time. Your child may read aloud a booklet that is leveled. The teacher has the text in front of him/her so it can be assessed. Everything from phonemic awareness to rate is assessed. Then the child makes predictions, reads the rest of the story, and answers comprehension questions that encompass summarizing through higher level thinking. The results of the D.R.A. were formerly found on your child's report card. This is no longer the case. The Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessment will be replacing the D.R.A. in 5th grade. Also, the results of this assessment will not be displayed on the report card, but will be collected by the teacher in order to make instructional decisions and shared with administrators for the same purpose. The data will be available to parents as well.
Report Card:
We are expected to assess classwork to determine whether students are learning daily skills that build upon one another. Therefore, all work that comes home with a grade that does not say quiz or test will count once in your child's average. Any graded work that is labeled as test or quiz will be weighted double that of classwork. Most graded work will be scored in red ink so you know it's going in your child's average, except for Plickers. I ask that you return the graded work with a signature so I know that you are aware of how well your child is performing. As a result, when we meet at report card conferences in November, there should be no surprises, and it preempts students any thoughts of hiding poor grades from parents. Also, we file the graded work so that it is accessible should we need to pull out specific examples of work when we meet. The downside is that good grades aren't available to hang on the fridge. Parents have come up with creative ideas to give a pat on the back like certificates in lieu of having the actual work there. I hope you understand that I am doing extra work on your behalf because I have seen students hide work from parents, and I believe anything that heads off big issues that result is worth the work to me and I hope you feel the same way. Report card conferences will be in November. Please check the district calendar and be sure to sign up either at Meet the Teacher night in September, or by contacting me via email or letter.
Twenty years ago students could choose two different options when working towards their high school diploma - Regents or Non-regents. This is no longer the case. In order to graduate from high school, students must pass state mandated exams. The state exams mandated in grades 3-8 tell us if your child is on track to pass the Regents Exams. They also tell how well districts, schools, administrators, teachers and parents are doing to prepare students for graduation and higher education. Now that New York State has adopted a new curriculum and released the new "Modules" to help instruct students in the type of methodologies that they feel best prepares students, the tests will also assess their success.
Exam Schedules:
E.L.A.: Tuesday, April 2nd – Thursday, April 4th
Math: Wednesday, May 1st – Friday, May 3rd
D.R.A. & Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessments
The Developmental Reading Assessment is a tool that gives the teacher information about how well your child is reading at the given point in time. Your child may read aloud a booklet that is leveled. The teacher has the text in front of him/her so it can be assessed. Everything from phonemic awareness to rate is assessed. Then the child makes predictions, reads the rest of the story, and answers comprehension questions that encompass summarizing through higher level thinking. The results of the D.R.A. were formerly found on your child's report card. This is no longer the case. The Fountas & Pinnell Reading Assessment will be replacing the D.R.A. in 5th grade. Also, the results of this assessment will not be displayed on the report card, but will be collected by the teacher in order to make instructional decisions and shared with administrators for the same purpose. The data will be available to parents as well.
Report Card:
We are expected to assess classwork to determine whether students are learning daily skills that build upon one another. Therefore, all work that comes home with a grade that does not say quiz or test will count once in your child's average. Any graded work that is labeled as test or quiz will be weighted double that of classwork. Most graded work will be scored in red ink so you know it's going in your child's average, except for Plickers. I ask that you return the graded work with a signature so I know that you are aware of how well your child is performing. As a result, when we meet at report card conferences in November, there should be no surprises, and it preempts students any thoughts of hiding poor grades from parents. Also, we file the graded work so that it is accessible should we need to pull out specific examples of work when we meet. The downside is that good grades aren't available to hang on the fridge. Parents have come up with creative ideas to give a pat on the back like certificates in lieu of having the actual work there. I hope you understand that I am doing extra work on your behalf because I have seen students hide work from parents, and I believe anything that heads off big issues that result is worth the work to me and I hope you feel the same way. Report card conferences will be in November. Please check the district calendar and be sure to sign up either at Meet the Teacher night in September, or by contacting me via email or letter.